Print Edition: June 20, 2019

Walk the Moon Return with a Sharper Rock Edge ... page 33

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SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::NEWS&VIEWS FEATURES | POLLS | TAKING LIBERTIES | ISSUE OF THE WEEK

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Construction on American Family Insurance Amphitheater after completed roof raise

WHAT’S NEW AT SUMMERFEST? ‘The World’s Largest Music Festival’ unveils a new amphitheater and more ::BY HARRY CHERKINIAN ummer is actually here, and if the weather is still trying to catch up at times, the calendar tells us that it’s almost time for Milwaukee’s biggest summer festival: Summerfest. This year’s event will host more than 800 artists on 12 stages for 11 days—more than 1,000 performances—which earns the festival the title of “The World’s Largest Music Festival,” and rightfully so. The list of artists scheduled to perform on the various stages covers all genres of the pop music landscape: classic rock, rap (old school and new), country, electronica, dance, jam, folk, emo, alt-rock and punk.

For the multitude of music aficionados, they’ll be plenty of upgrades at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater. The ambitious, two-year project has been in full swing for the past 12 months, with the second phase commencing once this year’s festival ends on Sunday, July 7.

Phase one has completed work on raising a portion of the existing roof from 39 to 65 feet to increase stage production. In addition, there are 19 new artist dressing rooms, backstage production and office spaces, new catering and dining areas, electrical upgrades and backstage production facilities. Even the loading dock space for semi and tour bus parking has been expanded to accommodate larger shows.

All that additional height and space means that the American Family Insurance Amphitheater can accommodate even more tours with massive productions, and patrons are already seeing the results at this year’s festival with a rare appearance by Jennifer Lopez. It’s been decades since “Jenny from the block” played Milwaukee. This marks her debut appearance at Summerfest and, given J-LO’s custom stage and army of dancers, the newly expanded space and higher roof made a difference in the booking.

Summerfest continued on page 6 >

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NEWS&VIEWS::FEATURE > Summerfest continued from page 5

Creating the New Amphitheater

The American Family Insurance Amphitheater was designed by Eppstein Uhen Architects in 1985, and construction was completed in 1987 by Hunzinger Construction (the same companies overseeing the current renovations). A bit of music trivia: The first group to play in the new space in 1987 was The Beach Boys, and the first act to hit this year’s amphitheater stage will be Thomas Rhett with Dustin Lynch.

As for some of the pertinent details about the design and creation of the American Family Insurance Amphitheater: The new stage is removable and adjustable from three feet to seven feet. In addition, there is “flat-space seating,” which translates to a flat space available for seating or for artists to add thrusts or a pit area.

New visuals include six Blizzard LED screens, with two located on either side of the stage and four additional screens throughout the amphitheater.

Summerfest hired an acoustics expert who assistedwith the design and construction plan with the goal of maintaining or improving the quality of the venue. Acoustic material was added throughout, with additional elements to be added in phase two of construction.

The 19 individual dressing rooms all come equipped with private toilet facilities, showers and make-up areas, including a few areas that can be customized.

To support larger productions, Summerfest has almost tripled the capacity of the dining facilities to accommodate 150 working personnel.

Led by project construction manager Hunzinger Construction, engineers began preparing the roof for this complex procedure in summer 2018, involving four months of construction work to actually lift it in September.

Approximately half of the current roof was raised, from the stage out to the end of the current reserved seating sections one, two and three, which is approximately 24,100 square feet (half an acre) and weighing some 607,000 lbs. The process of lifting the roof used eight different lifting motors (known as strand jacks), which pulled cables inch by inch from each of the eight points simultaneously until the 26-foot lift was completed. The roof was safely and successfully raised in one day.

Incidentally, Summerfest lost shows in recent years because of the lack of that 60

feet of clearance over the stage for rigging show productions. Now, the American Family Insurance Amphitheater can accommodate stadium-sized concerts. By comparison, that means that the facility can host shows typically staged at Miller Park, Lambeau Field and Fiserv Forum.

Looking beyond the amphitheater for other changes at Summerfest, Uline Warehouse has always been known for its rock acts, and this year promises that and more with updates and renovations. Located at the north end of the grounds, the UW stage was last updated in 2003, but as the crowds have grown, so has the need for additional seating. This year provides more of that, plus a new video screen and updated production technology. There’s now an elevated VIP area on stage, with its own bar and restrooms, and for people with disabilities, the UW stage will have a new viewing area and a separate area to rent wheelchairs.

Looking Ahead to Summerfest 2020

When completed next year, the American Family Insurance Amphitheater will feature those six new high-definition video screens, improved sightlines and new seats in a revised seating configuration. In addition, expanded concourses will feature new food and beverage offerings. The venue will also feature new and remodeled public restrooms. Overall, seating capacity will remain the same (approximately 23,000). The finished building will also add accessibility improvements, including a new elevator with access to all concourses, new ADA seats with improved sightlines and widened pathways.

For sponsors and venue supporters, the new amphitheater will provide access to outdoor private areas overlooking the BMO Harris Bank Pavilion, Lake Michigan and the Downtown Milwaukee skyline. In addition, these areas will provide access to premier seating, including a private entrance through a dedicated VIP entrance turnstile, as well as private VIP areas featuring bars, lounge areas and restroom access.

The official grand opening of the American Family Insurance Amphitheater is scheduled just in time for Summerfest 2020.

Summerfest 2019 runs Wednesday, June 26, through Sunday, July 7 (closed Monday, July 1) at Henry W. Maier Festival Park on Milwaukee’s Lakefront. For more information, visit summerfest.org. Comment at shepherdexpress.com.

THE FINISHED BUILDING WILL ALSO ADD ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS, INCLUDING A NEW ELEVATOR WITH ACCESS TO ALL CONCOURSES, NEW ADA SEATS WITH IMPROVED SIGHTLINES AND WIDENED PATHWAYS. SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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FIRST DATES Recently, I have gone on several first dates.

We have great conversations, share many stories and have lots of laughs. The date lasts for hours, and I think we have made a true connection, yet it never moves forward to a second date. I am baffled! I think, overall, I am a great catch and fabulous at first dates. Is it possible that my first dates are too good?

Dear Ms. Fabulous Firsts, I’m sure you are indeed a great catch and a wonderful connector. It may be as simple as blowing the first date basics. Many fantastic singles feel they are sensational at the first date because they have so much fun! They love that they had so much in common with this new person, and yet, it gets the same result: nada. But then, why do we continue this same process date after date, leading to disappointment and frustration?

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We leave the date hours later, feeling positive and secure, and our prospect goes home with all this new information. They can now make their own judgments, draw conclusions and based on all these presumptions, may decide you are not the one. So in actuality, all chances to really get to know you have been ruined. The key is to leave some mystery. Leave something for next time. He will not only want to see you again but will also be eager to learn more about you. It should be a slow unfolding. It is about peeling back layers while building sexual tension.

Most men tell me upon successful first date feedback: “ There is just something about her…” #INTRIGUING #ALLURING #CAPTIVATING 2. First Date Attire. This is probably the simplest of all the tips. It’s not that you are being superficial. Men are highly visual beings. What are you wearing? Is it “just okay”? “Just okay” is not okay! I don’t promote short skirts, stilettos or plunging necklines. After all, we don’t want a broken ankle or a wardrobe malfunction. But do you have a WOW factor? One that makes you POP? Look Great = Feel Great! Have your first date outfit ready. Can you capture his attention from the first moment he sees you?

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JUNE 2 0, 2 0 19 | 7

NEWS&VIEWS::FEATURE

Support

Local Nonprofits like:

Intergenerational Day Care...

Grand Avenue Club Group Shot

SPOTS OPEN for adult day services!

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STEIN CAMPUS 414.977.5000 2801 E. Morgan Ave. BUCYRUS CAMPUS 414.210.2450 2450 W. North Ave.

What Is the Grand Avenue Club, and Why Is It Important? ::BY CATHERINE JOZWIK

N

ow celebrating 28 years, Milwaukee’s Grand Avenue Club has helped nearly 2,000 adults with mental health issues find employment, be successful in education and engage in creative pursuits while providing a supportive and caring atmosphere. The Grand Avenue Club (GAC), one of about 300 of its kind worldwide, was founded in Milwaukee in 1991 by community organizers. The club’s employment program began two years later, and its education program launched in 1998.

Located at 210 E. Michigan St., GAC is housed in a former bank that was built in 1857.

With four floors, the club’s numerous amenities include a spacious art gallery and studio, a café with a commercial kitchen and a neatly organized library (complete with two old-fashioned fireplaces) with fiction and nonfiction books and DVDs. In the coming months, GAC plans to open Michigan Street Boutique, an upscale resale shop, in its basement level. The shop will be open to the public and sell clothing and household items.

GAC has 450 members: individuals who receive the club’s services. These members bring different experiences and skills to the table and have the opportunity to work in various club departments, including retail, business and culinary. Members can also engage in creative pursuits, among them art and writing. “There are many different success stories,” says GAC founder and executive director Rachel Forman.

“We are run by members and staff working together; we are not a traditional service model.”

8 | JUNE 20, 2019

Erik John Karpf—who joined GAC in April after moving from New York to Milwaukee— feels that the club’s staff is encouraging, helping members stay motivated. He considers the club “a little-known gem.” “It’s healing, to say the least,” he says.

‘We Help Each Other’

Claudine Jackson, a GAC member with nearly 30 years of customer service experience, works in the club’s retail and business area on the first floor, which, with the help of staff members, is preparing members to work in Michigan Street Boutique. Members perform retail tasks, such as sorting clothes, and learn customer service and point-of-sale skills. “Our ultimate goal is to train people in retail business and sales. We try to build confidence,” Jackson says. A club member since 2005, Jackson says GAC has offered her a safe haven. “I lived with mental illness for years. Here, people understand what I’m going through. Everyone is very supportive. We help each other,” she explains.

“The only difference between staff and other GAC members is that the staff members have keys,” said Maria-Elena Lepesqueur, a member since 2012. A retired nurse, Lepesqueur said her experience with the club has been very positive. “It’s a safe place to come.

It’s helped me grow, personally,” she adds.

The club’s second floor café serves members free breakfast, such as cereal, pancakes and muffins, and lunch (including soup and salad bar) for $2. Staff member Jenna Houillion, who began working at GAC as an intern, is now lead supervisor of the club’s culinary unit. Thanks to club members, some of whom have valuable culinary experience, the café produces tasty and diverse cuisine, including pork spring rolls and Creole chicken with cornbread and greens. Partners Outpost Natural Foods and Just One More Ministry provide the club with fresh produce.

“We’ve been able to make some really great food and have healthier options as well,” Houillion says. “This is a communal point in the clubhouse. We see everyone for breakfast and lunch.” GAC organizes temporary work placements typically lasting up to nine months for members. The club’s work partnerships include law firm Foley & Lardner, Outpost

Natural Foods, Colectivo, Derco Aerospace and the Medical College of Wisconsin. “We like to work with people who never thought they would be employed,” Forman says.

Offering Hope and Opportunity

With the help of club members, Joe Schultz, a program coordinator who has worked at GAC for 24 years, organizes and edits Phoenix, a public relations newsletter published quarterly by the club. He feels that the employment program is invaluable, adding that “it offers hope to people and opportunities to go into paid employment in the community.” Six-year member Kevin Ellis, who enjoys helping out in different club departments, agrees. “It’s provided structure in my life. It’s given me a sense of family and has also challenged me to make goals for myself and take baby steps to meet those goals,” he says.

The club fully understands the essential link between creativity and wellness. GAC’s fourth-floor art gallery features art by members and local Milwaukee artists, among them Peggy Caulfield and Miriam Sushman. The club often hosts several art exhibitions a year.

In 2017, GAC volunteer and former intern Brittany Mahlberg started an art studio on the club’s fourth floor. The cheery studio is stocked with everything from paintbrushes and acrylic paints to construction paper and even features two sewing machines. “Art therapy has been at the back of my mind for a long time. It’s so awesome to be a part of such a positive community,” she says. “It just seemed like a good idea to have an open space for people to come and make art.” Besides art, the club also hosts a writing therapy group.

GAC’s Young Adults program (for members ages 18-35) offers a host of fun activities.

These youthful members attend Milwaukee Brewers games, roller skating, golfing and picnics in local parks. “We have a very active evening, weekend and holiday program. There are many, many ways to be involved,” Forman adds. “We’re eager to recruit people who would like to take advantage of the opportunities offered.”

For more information about the Grand Avenue Club, call 414-276-6474 or visit grandavenueclub.org.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n SHEPHERD EXPRESS

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

JUNE 2 0, 2 0 19 | 9

::SAVINGOURDEMOCRACY ( JUNE 20 - JUNE 26, 2019 ) The Shepherd Express serves as a clearinghouse for all activities in the greater Milwaukee area that peacefully push back against discriminatory, reactionary or authoritarian actions and policies of the Donald Trump regime, as well as other activities that seek to thwart social justice. To submit to this column, please send a brief description of your action, including date and time, to savingourdemocracy@shepex.com.

Thursday, June 20

Patrick Jones, author of ‘The Selma of the North’ @ Coffee Makes You Black (2803 N. Teutonia Ave.) 6-8 p.m.

Between 1958 and 1970, a distinctive movement for racial justice emerged from unique circumstances in Milwaukee. A series of local leaders inspired growing numbers of people to participate in campaigns against employment and housing discrimination, segregated public schools, the membership of public officials in discriminatory organizations, welfare cuts and police brutality. A white Catholic priest, James Groppi, led the NAACP Youth Council and Commandos in a militant struggle that lasted for 200 consecutive nights and provoked the ire of thousands of white residents. After working-class mobs attacked demonstrators, some called Milwaukee “the Selma of the North.”

Friday, June 21

Sunday, June 23

Building Museum in Washington, D.C., “Evicted” begins its national tour at the Mobile Design Box in Milwaukee’s Near West Side. “Evicted” is an immersive exhibition that introduces visitors to the intimate, painful process of lowincome renter eviction. Inspired by Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book about eviction in Milwaukee, the experience presents data developed by Desmond’s Eviction Lab and features original photography and audio examining reasons for and the fallout from eviction.

“Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated,” said Donald Trump two years ago. Actually, most everyone knows that but him, apparently, and it has become even more complicated since subsidies were canceled, and ACA provisions have been waived in many states. Kraig will answer your questions regarding the many health care proposals and options being touted or proposed by presidential candidates. For more information, call Grassroots North Shore at 414-236-4259.

Q&A with Robert Kraig of Citizen Action of Wisconsin @ Brown Deer Methodist Church (5736 W. Brown Following a successful run at the National Deer Road) 3-5 p.m.

Grand Opening of ‘Evicted’ Exhibit @ Mobile Design Box (753 N. 27th St.) 5-8 p.m.

Saturday, June 22

Monday, June 24 Peace Action of Wisconsin: Stand for Peace @ the corner of BadgerCare Expansion— Capitol Drive and Teutonia Avenue, Day of Action Rally @ City Hall (200 E. Wells St.) 6:30-7:30 p.m. noon-1 p.m.

Every Saturday from noon-1 p.m., concerned citizens join with Peace Action of Wisconsin to protest war and literally “Stand for Peace.” Signs will be provided for those who need them. Protesters are encouraged to stick around for conversation and coffee after the protest.

Join Citizen Action and other aligned groups at Milwaukee City Hall for a rally around the BadgerCare expansion, with a phone bank-texting taking place afterward at Citizen Action’s office.

Tuesday, June 25

Worker Cooperatives 101 @ Central Library (814 W. Wisconsin Ave.) 5 p.m.

Co-ops are designed to improve low-wage jobs and build wealth while helping to build skills, earning potential, household income and assets. Local Initiatives Support Corporation Milwaukee presents Charity Schmidt (cooperative development specialist of the UW Center of Cooperatives) and Georgia Allen (founder and president of Soaring Independent Cooperative) to speak about the successes, challenges and impact of cooperative culture.

Wednesday, June 26

Ride 4 Peace 2k19 Rally, Tailgate and Vigil @ Sherman Boulevard and Burleigh Street to Miller Park (1 Brewers Way) 4 p.m.

Club Kids works to keep underprivileged children off the streets and out of jail by offering them fun and safe alternatives. This has been made possible through generous donations from private citizens and local and national businesses. Become a sponsor or ride the route from Sherman and Burleigh to Miller Park for a party and vigil.

To submit to this column, please send a brief description of your action, including date and time, to savingourdemocracy@shepex.com. Comment at shepherdexpress.com.

NEWS&VIEWS::POLL

You Think LGBTQs Have Suffered Setbacks Since Trump Took Office

Last week, we asked if you thought legal rights and/or social acceptance of LGBTQ Americans have undergone some unfortunate setbacks in the past few years? You said: Yes: 67% No: 33%

What Do You Say?

Many Milwaukee County residents, especially those living in Shorewood, have expressed their concerns about County Executive Chris Abele and his fiancée’s plan to tear down a $2.4 million historic mansion on Lake Drive to build their “dream house.” This, obviously, requires the Village of Shorewood’s approval.

Which of the following opinions comes closest to your own?

He can use his inherited money any way he pleases.

This is a classic example of the gross economic inequality that permeates our society.

Vote online at shepherdexpress.com. We’ll publish the results of this poll in next week’s issue.

10 | J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

NEWS&VIEWS::TAKINGLIBERTIES

What’s So Hard about Taxing the Wealthy? ::BY JOEL MCNALLY

T

he most absurd mass delusion in America two-and-a-half years ago was that electing a constantly lying, hate-spewing, financially corrupt multimillionaire as president would somehow improve the lives of working people struggling to survive in small towns and rural areas. Donald Trump claimed—as a wealthy American who had made enormous profits while paying as little as possible in taxes utilizing every loophole created by Washington politicians for the wealthy— he knew how corrupt the system was and that “I alone can fix it!!”

Ordinary Americans were right that something was seriously wrong with a country where super-wealthy corporate CEOs paid lower effective tax rates than their office secretaries. But working-class voters were foolish to believe that Trump, a lying conman in a goldplated tower, ever intended to change a system that allowed wealthy people like himself to pay no taxes at all some years. Instead, the only major piece of legislation Trump passed was a $1.5 trillion-dollar tax cut that continued to stuff the bulging pockets of himself, his family and other millionaires and billionaires.

The funny thing is increasing taxes on the wealthy is overwhelmingly popular among all voters, supported by 74% of Democrats, 56% of independents and even 50% of Republicans. That was the response in a recent Politico-Morning Consult poll to a proposal by Democratic presidential candidate Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren for a 2% wealth tax on families with a net worth of more than $50 million and an additional 1% tax on families worth more than $1 billion.

The Rich Pay Too Little

And it’s nothing new. With little change over the past 15 years, nearly two-thirds of Americans have been telling Gallup that the wealthy pay too little in taxes. During that time, income inequality has become dramatically worse. Today, the richest one tenth of one percent owns as much wealth as the bottom 90% of Americans. That just happens to be 75,000 families who would pay Warren’s wealth tax that economists estimate would generate $2.75 trillion dollars over the next decade that could be used for health care, education, infrastructure and anything else we might need.

“That’s how badly out of whack our economy has gotten,” Warren tells enthusiastic crowds as she rises in the polls. “Two cents on the greatest fortunes in this country would yield an investment in every one of our kids in this country.” A 2% tax on “the diamonds, the yachts and the Rembrandts” of a small group SHEPHERD EXPRESS

of wealthy Americans who’ve been shielded from paying their fair share could fund child care, pre-school and debt-free college and protect necessary social programs such as Social Security and Medicare that Republicans keep targeting for major reductions.

A few words about many of the families who possess those great fortunes: Trump is a continuing example that those fortunate enough to be enjoying such unimaginable wealth are far from our best and our brightest, nor have most of them achieved their lofty positions over all the rest of us through hard work or, for that matter, any work at all. Most have inherited their great fortunes, and many of them have never worked a single day in their lives. They work less and spend far more on drugs than all the poor welfare recipients in the inner cities of America combined, who are continually denigrated by Republican politicians representing the interests of the wealthy.

Level the Playing Field

With such a prime example of why U.S. tax laws need to be shifted to level the playing field for ordinary Americans and force the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share, you won’t believe the latest Republican argument against increasing taxes on those most able to pay. It’s that rich people are far too dishonest—and have so many high-paid lawyers and lobbyists creating tax loopholes for them—so they can never actually be forced to pay a cent more in taxes.

This argument was spelled out recently in an analysis in The Washington Post, suggesting Warren’s tax on the super-wealthy to pay for programs benefitting all Americans “could amount to the largest transfer of wealth from the richest Americans to the middle class in U.S. history.” But it warned that Warren was relying on assumptions “that deny a long history of U.S. policymaking,” especially “that the country’s wealthiest taxpayers won’t find ways to evade the targeted tax hike she proposes.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics and an advisor to billionaire Republican Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, said: “Will the wealthy do things that wealthy people can do to avoid paying the tax? That’s the real concern that I have.”

That’s it? That rich people are too rich, powerful and dishonest ever to be required to pay higher taxes? If that’s true, democracy is even more broken than most of us realize.

It’s even more important working people elect candidates who really will restore fair taxation instead of electing lying multimillionaires who only care about themselves.

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J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9 | 11

6/13/2019 10:18:55 AM

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Wisconsin’s Need to Fund Public Education

A

::BY CHRIS LARSON

s another school year wraps up across the state, so also ends what could be the last year under Scott Walker’s draconian education budgeting practices. A student who started first grade in Walker’s first year as governor just graduated eighth grade. In real dollars, her last year of school saw less money invested in public education than when she was in kindergarten. To put it bluntly, Wisconsin has yet to cover the gap Republicans created when they entered office in the Tea Party wave and delivered the largest cut to K-12 education in state history. That is the Walker and Republican legacy in Wisconsin and most people think it’s already over. It’s not.

Before this student gets her fresh start as a new freshman this upcoming fall, three scenarios could play out that determine what level of education she’ll get. If enough Republicans join Democrats to do the right thing and amend the budget back to Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal, she’ll see an influx of much-needed funds. $1.6 billion to be exact, with $606 million earmarked directly for the state to again fulfill our pledge to local schools by picking up 60% of the tab for special education.

If the education budget crafted by Republicans on Joint Finance is signed as is, the increase will be $903 million less than what voters expected when they went to the polls in November to vote for change and for Evers. Special education will continue to be an unfunded mandate coming from the state but without the funds to back it up.

The third scenario is what happens if no new budget is put forward. If that happens, Wisconsin doesn’t shut down, it just continues under the zombie budget of Walker’s last formula until something is passed to replace it. If that happens, students will be stuck another year at the same inadequate funding levels we’ve been at.

A good public education is the path to success and a strong public school is the cornerstone of our best neighborhoods. Strong and well-funded public education is the ladder that allows those who are poor to find their way into the middle class and beyond. As Americans, we believe that every single child should have that opportunity. But if we continue to underfund public education, as we have, the middle class will continue to be out of reach for too many of our friends and neighbors.

The future of our kids is up for a vote when this budget comes before the Senate and Assembly. Which path will we take before summer ends and schools gear up to once again challenge our students?

Chris Larson is a Wisconsin state senator representing the Seventh District.

Comment at shepherdexpress.com. n 12 | J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::OUTOFMYMIND

When Is It Safe to Lower Our Emotional Shields? ::BY PHILIP CHARD

J

ane approached life in a pedantic fashion.

This tendency emerged foremost in her manner of speech. Her precisely enunciated words issued forth in a slow, measured tempo with little tonal inflection or changes in volume. When first listening to her vocalizations, they seemed almost robotic, as if driven by AI rather than a homo sapiens.

The remainder of her mannerisms followed suit. Scrupulously maintaining stone-like eye contact, she exhibited few and muted facial expressions, rarely gestured, and seemed to sit and stand at near attention. Impeccably groomed and dressed, in the absence of movement, mistaking her for a mannequin was not out of the question.

“I’m very cerebral,” she told me. “I’ve been called rigid, and I know I look the part.”

“We know you look the part. The question is whether you truly feel the part,” I replied.

A financial professional in a growing organization, she conducted her interactions with others much as she did with her spreadsheets, as matter-of-fact transactions.

For the most part, we humans interact in two ways: We are either relating or transacting. The former feeds our hearts and souls, while the latter feeds our pockets and to-do lists. Well, Jane was pretty much transactional across the board. “I let down some with my family, of course, but probably not that much compared to the average wife and mother,” she mused.

“I’ve never met an average anybody, but I get your point,” I responded.

Our conversation revealed Jane had once been a more animated and engaged soul.

The mental transformation into her version of Spock was gradual but fully deployed by the time she exited graduate school. Highly competent in her craft, she rose quickly through the ranks. While not much liked by her colleagues, she earned their respect.

“Our countenance and mannerisms speak for us sometimes,” I suggested. “You’re smart. What do you think yours are saying?”

“Be careful,” she replied abruptly, surprising herself.

By not displaying any emotion, Jane kept her mental doors and windows shuttered.

With shields up at all times, she made it clear to most everyone they should stay away, and they largely did. Her husband was an exception, but she admitted some discomfort when he tried to get inside her head and heart.

“Where did you learn to be careful?” I continued.

In Jane’s case, it was gradual. Reared by aloof parents, after getting her heart broken by several suitors through high school and college, she began battening down the mental hatches. Sensitized to the pain humans inflict on each other, she decided the world was an emotionally dangerous place. She chose a husband who was long on trustworthiness and short on emotional intimacy.

Particularly for highly sensitive people, such as Jane, rejection cuts deep. In fact, studies show it is among the most agonizing of human experiences. Her challenge was to face the fear of rejection by striking a balance between emotional vulnerability and psychological safety. Not easy.

First, one determines those friends or family who are emotionally safe, rather than painting all people with the same “be careful” brush. Then, gradually, one cracks open a few of those barred mental windows, exhibiting enough emotional vulnerability to test the waters. If all goes well, door openings become feasible.

Sadly, of course, not having anyone “to tell it to,” as actress Ruth Gordon put it, makes this approach all but moot. Regardless, emotionally unsafe folks shouldn’t be granted access. With them, Jane’s sort of mental armor is advantageous rather than problematic. The trick is choosing wisely, realizing there’s no guarantee of absolute emotional safety in this world.

Never lowering one’s mental shields carries its own risks, including loneliness, feeling fake, the stress of hypervigilance, the absence of intimacy and not being known (and, therefore, validated) for one’s true self.

Having emotional shields is necessary, but not sufficient.

We all need someone to help us lower them.

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::DININGOUT

ALISA MALEVENDA

FEATURE | SHORT ORDER | EAT/DRINK

For more Dining, log onto shepherdexpress.com

Ca’Lucchenzo Ca’Lucchenzo

Every Bite Delicious at Tosa’s New Ca’Lucchenzo

so we did, using the last pieces of our focaccia to mop up every bit of the sauce.

My favorite of the snacks was the goat cheese crostino ($9). The crusty bread held up to the smooth and tangy goat cheese, topped with bitter greens and a drizzle of sweet Calabrian honey with a spicy finish. This is one of those simplistic dishes where you notice every nuance of flavor and texture for perfect balance.

Next on the menu is the antipasti. The garden salad, Insalata di Giardiniera, is studded with salami, provolone, pickled vegetables and beans ($11). The wellthought-out Polpo alla Piastra ($13) is tender octopus, smoky from grilling and served with chickpeas and a ’nduja (spreadable pork) vinaigrette. Also on the antipasti list: fried artichokes, arancino (a risotto fritter on top of a warm spring salad) and sautéed asparagus with wild spring onions and fried egg. ::BY ALISA MALAVENDA Pasta Fatta in Casa (all homemade pasta) is the star of the menu. The Malloreddus Sardo ($19), Sardinian gnocchi, isn’t made with potato. Its barrelhen seasoned industry veterans like shaped pasta has ridges to trap and soak in all the flavors of the lamb ragù Sarah and Zak Baker combine their with bitter greens, anchovy breadcrumbs and a dusting of pecorino (sheep experience with exceptional discerning milk cheese that is a little more pungent than parmigiano). The Tagliatelle palates for food and wine, which are only Verdi al Ragù Bianco ($19), a strand of spinach pasta gently tossed with white eclipsed by their passion for pasta, they are sure veal ragù and parmigiano, is a perfect lighter dish. to have a hit.

Hands down, the Ravioli della Casa ($18) is a favorite. The delicate and Their new venue in eastern Wauwatosa, perfectly executed ravioli is filled with goat cheese and swiss chard, sitting on Ca’Lucchenzo, is a pasta shop, wine bar and Italtop of a walnut pesto with just enough brown butter to make all those flavors ian restaurant. The craft cocktails and wine list are mingle beautifully in your mouth. thoughtful and handpicked. The fresh, new look is I look forward to my next visit to try the bowtie pasta in a cream sauce, squid-ink cozy, but the U-shaped “pasta bar” that seats more pasta with seafood, beautifully twisted Sicilian pasta with peas, sausage and mint than a dozen is the real sweet spot for pasta enthusiasts. or the rigatoni with tomato and basil ($16-$20).

Seated at the bar with only a glass window between you If pasta isn’t your thing, there are “secondi” entrée choices that touch on all the and the fresh pasta masters, you watch as traditions of Italy. Among them, risotto with peas, creamy polenta they roll, cut and fill, making you feel like a part of the experience of with vegetables or, for the carnivore, a red wine-braised wild boar the dish from start to finish. It really whets your appetite. stew over polenta. ($18-$22). I would be remiss not to mention Ca’Lucchenzo The menu starts with Cicchetti—meaning little snacks or that every dish came out of the kitchen skillfully sauced and pip6030 W. North Ave. bites—perfect for snacking with your cocktail. An especially good ing hot and stayed that way through each delectable bite. cocktail is the Carlina ($12), Ca’Lucchenzo’s version of a negroni. calucchenzo.com Ca’Lucchenzo’s Dolci and Formaggio has several items, and The homemade focaccia ($5) includes three nicely stacked pieces, 414-312-8968 • $$ all done well, including a dark chocolate torte with cherries and perfect for dipping in olive oil. The giant meatball ($11) lives up to olive oil, a silky panna cotta or Frittelle di Semola (a fried Venetian CC, FB, OD, RS, GF its promised scale. It is made with braised veal and pork for a wondoughnut served with grapefruit marmellata), which are all perHandicap derful texture and flavor accompanied by lots of sauce and cheese. fect endings to an incredible experience. accessible: yes The Italian phrase “fare la scarpetta” means “make a little shoe,” and

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9 | 17

— MILWAUKEE’S BEST WINGS —

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(all the Great Lakes Distillery liquors)

NO TO-GO OR PHONE ORDERS. NO CHILDREN ALLOWED WITH OR WITHOUT PARENTS.

As Bombay Sweets (3401 S. 13th St.) celebrates its 20th year this year, the South Side purveyor of East Indian vegetarian cuisine remains a reliable destination for tasty meatless fare. Bombay Sweets’ traditional thali platter encompasses dishes with spicy, astringent, salty, bitter, sour and sweet flavors in one meal. Sweets’ version of it is also an economical way to introduce newcomers to East Indian eating. Diners can enjoy the flexibility in choosing two curry entrées on their trays already generously decked with long-grain rice, a yogurt-based condiment, two varieties of naan, a cup of delightfully strong pieces of pickle, dessert and other delicacies; I chose sweetly creamy mixed-vegetable korma for one of my options during a recent visit.

That so much food can be had for a price some restaurants charge for an appetizer speaks to the value that’s always been a hallmark here. Styrofoam serving plates and plastic cutlery may keep costs low, but those disposable elements don’t reflect on Bombay Sweets’ uniqueness and quality.

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SHEPHERD EXPRESS

COURTESY OF CONFECTIONATELY YOURS

DININGOUT::EATDRINK

Adija Greer-Smith of Confectionately Yours

Baker Carries on Family Traditions at Sherman Phoenix ::BY SHEILA JULSON

W

hile growing up, Adija Greer-Smith of Confectionately Yours by GGG (3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave., inside Sherman Phoenix) watched, listened and learned as her grandmother, Mildred, prepared baked treats for the family. “She was a phenomenal baker,” GreerSmith reflects. “She was happy doing what she loved to do, and when you find something you love, you make other people happy, too.”

Mississippi roots on Greer-Smith’s grandmother’s side of the family influence her cakes, cobblers, pies, cookies and bars. GreerSmith also develops her own recipes and combines recipes. Although she’s a lifelong baker, it wasn’t until the birth of her first son that she realized there was a demand for her homemade confections. She left her full-time job to be a stay-at-home mom, but she became restless.

“I was so bored staying home. I was enjoying my baby, but I didn’t have anything occupying my time. One day, I decided to start baking again,” she says. When the holidays came around, she gave homemade sweets as holiday gifts, and the response was overwhelming.

Greer-Smith started vending at local events, selling gourmet nut brittles and homemade turtles, the latter of which would become Marley Bites, a customer favorite. Her products were a hit, and soon she started doing custom orders and dessert trays for weddings. The demand kept growing, and Greer-Smith realized she had a viable business option.

A true challenge came when she received SHEPHERD EXPRESS

a request to make decorated cookies. GreerSmith also has an artistic background: she did freelance makeup artistry, and Mildred also did oil painting. “I started doing some frosted cookies for someone who requested them. I was not impressed—but she was.” That experience took her business to another level.

Greer-Smith originally launched her bakery business under Greer’s Gourmet Goodies, but she rebranded as Confectionately Yours by GGG. Although she hadn’t planned on opening a brick-and mortar space, the stars aligned through an encounter with Sherman Phoenix co-developer JoAnne Sabir.

Greer-Smith went to high school with JoAnne’s husband, Maanaan. She was also a customer at the Juice Kitchen, the Sabirs’ business on 16th and North, but she wasn’t aware of the Sherman Phoenix development.

She ran into Sabir at a Milwaukee Influencers’ meeting hosted by communications coach Denise Thomas, and Sabir and Greer-Smith talked at length that night about opening a Confectionately Yours by GGG space at Sherman Phoenix.

Greer-Smith was hesitant to make the leap to a retail space, but through Sabir’s encouragement and assistance securing small business loans and grants, Greer-Smith said yes, and her business has since grown exponentially. “There’s been an overwhelming amount of love and support from the community, and the business grew beyond my dreams,” she says.

Three days after the grand opening of Sherman Phoenix on Nov. 30, Greer-Smith appeared on the Food Network’s “Christmas Cookie Challenge”. She limits decorated cookies to custom orders, but she has since expanded with other items. “The Marley Bites are an item we offer every day. People always come looking for them, so we cannot run out!” she says. Also popular are layer cakes including caramel, red velvet, banana or coconut; peach cobbler; and the Phoenix cookies, which are chocolate chip cookies with pecans and secret ingredients.

Greer-Smith appears monthly on WITI/ FOX6’s “Real Milwaukee,” and she leads cookie-decorating classes through the Milwaukee Public Library. Past generations have influenced her baking; today, her husband and two sons help at the bakery, along with her mother and a staff of students.

For more information, visit confectionatelyyoursggg.com.

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SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::A&E

Brought to you by The Milwaukee Art Museum

ERIN BLOODGOOD

FEATURE | FILM | THEATRE | ART | BOOKS | CLASSICAL MUSIC | DANCE

Gaulien “Gee” Smith

How Milwaukee Barber Shops Open Conversations for African American Men ::BY ERIN BLOODGOOD

n Saturday morning, in the busy barber shop on MLK Drive and Garfield Avenue, you will hear the sound of shears clipping, trimmers buzzing and men talking amongst each other. Gee’s Clippers always seems to be full of energy and people with hopeful faces. There is a welcoming atmosphere in the midst of the bustling barber shop.

On the other side of town, on 76th Street and Capitol Drive, you’ll find a quieter barber shop with a staff that seems like a family. Styles Par Excellence, managed by Dart Townsend, has a staff that supports one another and their clientele by being there to listen when someone needs to share their struggles. These barber shops, like others in the city, hold onto a culture that has been rooted in the African American community for decades. Barber shops have been a gathering place for black men, providing a safe space to talk and build self-esteem.

A barber is far more than someone that cuts hair; he is a role model, a health advocate and a reliable person to talk to. Especially to a man dealing with difficult life experiences like poverty or family problems, a barber is a steady person in his life who can empower him with a new haircut. As is commonly reported in the news, the rates of obesity, incarceration and poverty among African Americans are vastly higher compared to those of whites.

Most Milwaukee residents probably already know that our city is one of the most segregated cities in the country and home to the zip code with the highest percentage of black male incarceration. Those issues are real and present for too many local men, but barbers “can be an ear to those individuals that come from a broken home,” states

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Gee’s Clippers

Jelaqua Tucker & Natasha Dotson

Gaulien “Gee” Smith, owner of Gee’s Clippers. More than that, these barbers are embracing their role as trusted community members and partnering with organizations like the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative (MFI) to bring real solutions to this city.

One of those solutions is an event put on by Gee’s Clippers and MFI called “Real Men Real Talk,” a conversation for and about men. The idea came together when Gaulien Smith and MFI’s project director Natasha Dotson realized that men aren’t talking to each other about their personal issues. Dotson has witnessed how hypermasculinity can cause men to withdraw from their families and avoid confronting their problems.

Smith has seen similar patterns in his customers and over time has seen more mothers bringing their sons to the shop, rather than fathers. Men have been withdrawing from the family because they don’t know how to act as fathers. But going to the barber is one of the key ways African American men have traditionally bonded with their sons, Dotson explains. “That’s what men did. It was a man thing.”

Real Men Real Talk is Dotson and Smith’s direct response to those problems.

The recurring event is a workshop and open conversation which gives men the tools to be engaged with their families and steer their lives in a positive direction.

Hosted in Gee’s barber shop, the gathering is only for men and pulls in leaders and business owners from around the city to teach men about entrepreneurship, health and confidence. The moderator of Real Men Real Talk, Kwabena Antoine Nixon, explains the conversation provides black men a place for healing, a place to discuss their concerns and a place to feel welcomed.

“Barber shops are the heartbeat of the community,” Smith insists. They are one of the few places many of these men feel comfortable talking about their vulnerabilities. Many men don’t know where to look for help so they choose to go to their barber, someone they trust, a place they can let their guard down. “You can say the things here you can’t say nowhere else,” says Anthony Millions, a barber at Gee’s Clippers. “You can talk to somebody, another man, about things you can’t talk to your girl about.” These conversations allow men to talk through their frustrations, find guidance and be more present when they go back to their families.

Gee’s Clippers allows for one-on-one conversations between barber and customer, but Styles Par Excellence tends to be a group conversation in their smaller space. “Everything is on the table when you’re in the shop. Everybody is welcome to chime in,” says Townsend. “It’s like a group therapy session, so to speak.” Whether it’s a conversation between two men or ten, these barbers make sure their shops are a place for men to have meaningful conversations whenever they are needed.

The essential thing that barber shops provide is trust. When boys and men sit in their barber’s chair to get a haircut, they are sitting in the chair of a man they confide in. “In this day and time, for the most part, a barber is the only positive male role model a kid might talk to on a regular basis. We don’t have enough positive African American men out here,” says Smith. He believes barbers have a responsibility to impart as much positive energy and insight as they possibly can. While inside a barber shop, a man gets to escape from the burdens of daily life and be in a sanctuary that guides him to become a stronger man.

For more of Erin Bloodgood’s work, visit bloodgoodfoto.com.

J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9 | 21

::PERFORMINGARTSWEEK

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THEATRE

Wisconsin Public Radio’s (WPR) “Old Time Radio Drama Live” presents a new show involving a detective who gets her way despite all those who underestimate her. “There’s Always a Woman” features a clever noir narrative, complete with husband-and-wife private eyes, a mysterious wealthy client, blackmail, gambling and more.

Long-time WPR host Norman Gilliland and Michele Good have herein updated a script from an original 1939 Campbell’s Playhouse radio drama. Indeed, the show includes dramatizations of reworked Campbell’s Soup commercials and even a mini-episode of “Fibber McGee and Molly.”“People love ‘Old Time Radio Drama,’ even if they’ve never heard the originals,” Gilliland says. (John Jahn) There’s Always a Woman premieres at the Racine Theatre Guild, 2519 Northwestern Ave., Saturday, June 22 (this show will be broadcast live statewide).

The tour then moves to the Campanile Center for the Arts in Minocqua on Friday, Aug. 23, and finally to The Grand in Oshkosh on Friday, Oct. 11. For tickets and more information, call 1-800747-7444 or visit wpr.org/presents.

ANNA WARD

“Old Time Radio Drama Live” State Tour

MUSIC

SPECIALEVENT

A Street Corner Serenade

Footlights People’s Choice Awards

A Street Corner Serenade is aimed at delighting Milwaukee-area lovers of a cappella music with the sounds of a fine chorus and vocal quartets.

The world-class Midwest Vocal Express chorus—currently celebrating its 30th anniversary of song-filled storytelling—performs a variety of music: Broadway, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, country western and much more. Also raining their voices in beloved song at this concert, vocal quartets will gather under an iconic Milwaukee harp streetlight, harmonizing doo-wop and barbershop favorites. (John Jahn) 7 p.m. Saturday, June 22 in Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-2737206 or visit marcuscenter.org.

Commencing with a VIP pre-party, followed by a red-carpet reception and awards ceremony wrapping up with a food and entertainment-filled after party event, Footlights’ 2019 celebration of the performing arts in Milwaukee and surrounding areas includes a healthy mix of formal recognition and live performances. Hosted by local comedian and producer Matt Kemple, the evening will recognize both professional and nonprofessional artists and companies from throughout the greater Milwaukee area for their many contributions to our thriving arts scene.

Following all the “official” business, the after party will include appetizers and desserts from Classy Girl Cupcakes, Thunder Bay Grille, Moe’s Southwest Grill, BelAir Cantina, Nothing Bundt Cakes and Bonefish Grill. Free wine from Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant will be offered in the Kuttemperoor Grand Hall, and live entertainment outside in the Burke Colonnade comes via salsa band Naborí. (John Jahn) 4:30-7 p.m., Saturday, June 22 at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, 19805 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield. For tickets and more information, call 262781-9520 or visit wilson-center.com.

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HOME: A Free Outdoor Festival Celebrating Our Refugee Communities

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mkefringe.com

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Milwaukee’s Theatre, Art, Music and Dance Festival!

CHECK OUT ONE OF THE BIGGEST ART EVENTS OF THE YEAR!

Art, Food, Performance

Saturday, June 22, 2019 • 10 am-4 pm Lynden Sculpture Garden • 2145 W. Brown Deer Rd. lyndensculpturegarden.org/home 22 | J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9

adventurous theatre, music, dance and visual art fills the Marcus Center indoors and out

presenting sponsor

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A&E::INREVIEW

O

::BY ETHAN DURAN

n Friday, June 14, the Summit Players Theatre kicked off their 2019 tour with a colorful performance of Romeo and Juliet in between the blocky buildings of Marquette University campus. This Launch Party began their 2019 Shakespeare in the State Parks tour, which will take the company to 19 different parks across Wisconsin. What started as a senior project brainstormed by Marquette alumni five years ago will provide a performing arts supplement to Wisconsin’s abundant outdoor spaces.

The play started off as a lighthearted and funny adventure about two star-crossed lovers kept apart by their rivaling families but turned serious and intense when imaginary swords were drawn. Since the stage and props were kept at a minimum, the performance relied on the actors’ skill alone. The company easily put on an excellent performance despite the night’s high wind and threat of rain.

Six actors raced back and forth from the stage to their prop chest in the back, switching in and out of different costumes and roles like clockwork. They transitioned smoothly from angry, aristocratic fathers to humble friars with a quick change of a hat or a cloak, bringing every role they were given to its fullest potential. Nadja Simmonds, as Juliet, brought out the distress of her character while in conflict with her family over Romeo. The emotion on Simmonds’ face during her laments showed the pain of forbidden love.

The stage was minimal, yet colorful and dynamic as it was covered in a poster background and a set of flags. Actors would unravel doors from behind the stage or hold up audience cue signs which provided sound effects from bird calls to the sound of wind. When Ryan Zierk, as Romeo, drew his imaginary sword, the production manager nearby rubbed two metal bars together to make the sound of the scabbard. Every parry and blow were sounded by the metallic clang of the bars, cleverly bringing the action scenes to life. A knife was the only

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COURTESY OF SUMMIT PLAYERS THEATRE

Summit Players Theatre Throws Launch Party at Marquette Campus

Summit Players’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’

weapon prop physically present on stage for its important role later in the play.

As the sun set and nearby streetlamps provided light, the play came to a close after the two lovers finally perished. The company gathered in front of the audience at the end of the show, and all took a bow—each of them wearing brightly colored Converse. The audience gave their ovation, and the Summit Players set out, off to perform at the Richard Bong State Recreation Area and the High Cliff State Park over the weekend.

To find Summit Players Theatre showtimes, visit summitplayerstheatre.com.

J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9 | 23

A&E::VISUALART

SPONSORED BY

OPENINGS: Lakefront Festival of Art

June 21-23 Milwaukee Art Museum grounds 700 N. Art Museum Drive

Will Saint Kate Become the Patron of Milwaukee Arts?

C

::BY SHANE MCADAMS

atherine de’ Vigri was born in 1413 to an aristocratic family in Bologna, Italy. She eventually was called by the Roman Catholic Church, founding the monastic order of Poor Clares, and lived out her life as a spiritual servant. Despite her asceticism, Kate was also a skilled and avid painter, eventually being canonized as St. Catherine in 1712 by Pope Clement VII as the patron saint of artists.

This historical background might be illuminating to those cruising along East Kilbourn Street, expecting the old Intercontinental but receiving sight of the new Saint Kate hotel. The exterior block lettering “S-A-I-N-T K-A-T-E,” wrapped around the building’s corner provides only superficial hints of the substantial changes within.

Is this the big thing we’ve all been waiting for? It seems we might be embarking on a new age of personalized experience.

The degree of individualization in our lives is eroding precipitously, possibly enough to reverse the proverbial pendulum.

The things we once actively shopped for in fishbowl-like malls are now passively received in sad packages. I get full dinners shipped to me in brown boxes via a brown UPS box truck. Everything from forming bowling leagues to forming lifelong relationships are dissocialized by efficient computer applications.

Without the unexpected connectivity of social interplay, what are the end results really worth?

In these matters, I regularly refer back to James Gleick’s prescient 2009 article in The New York Times Magazine, “Keeping it Real,” about the market value of the Magna Carta. Long article short, he proposed that the value of that original document was not tethered to its uniqueness nor lack thereof, but to both. Its value, he noted, was based on a ratio of original experience (the actual document) to its copies (reproductions of it on the internet). In other words, the more artificial the world becomes, the more meaning authentic experiences have. Humans need such interactivity; if they don’t get it, they will create it virtually and inauthentically on social media, or through Pinterest or Etsy.

Few experiences are as consonant with unexpected move24 | J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9

ment through the world as a hotel stay. It’s where one resides when caught outside of daily routine. And still, a night in a hotel is often as ritualized and patterned as going through airport security. Given this, it seems a fairly reasonable proposition for someone to create a hotel in 2019 that is surprising, irregular, stuffed with handmade objects and as eccentric as the community of which it occupies.

The Saint Kate is flush with works of fine art, yes, but it’s not simply a static collection of treasures and trophies. It’s an immersive and curated mix of art, functional objects and creative spaces that activates sightlines and modifies behaviors. From Paul Druecke’s welcome rug at the main check-in desk to the ukuleles and drawing supplies in each guest room, Art–with a capital “A”– presides almost divinely over everything.

The artistic interventions at Saint Kate are a savvy mix of internationally recognized makers like Terry Winters, Damien Hirst and the unmistakable Deborah Butterfield, whose driftwood horse resides conspicuously in the lobby, and literally hundreds of local and regional creators. Installation artist Jason Yi’s billowing installation snakes up the main stairwell, encouraging visitors to the second floor where art rings the spaces around the Aria Café and Bar and the Giggly champagne bar.

The hotel features four dedicated art galleries whose programming will rotate regularly, as well as an in-house theater troupe which will perform scripted and non-scripted material in the Arc Theatre and in less conventional spots around the hotel.

The inaugural exhibition “Downtown” in the Museum of Wisconsin Art DTN features work embracing the cultural vitality of Milwaukee’s creative enclave. Local historical documentarian Adam Carr’s rotating postcard display and Mark Klassen’s Poet Phone stand out in a show with a lot of standouts.

An adjacent gallery offers a brilliant show by Brooklyn-based artist Lisa Beck, full of reflective abstract optical wonders that energetically contrast the gritty local art next door.

And there is so much more; it is difficult by nature to describe the terms of such an experience piece-by-piece. The Saint Kate has created something truly unique, transcending any preconceived notion of a hotel; they’ve created an immersive sensual arts funhouse, where one may stay after their retinas get fatigued. All of which makes the hotel a work of art in its own right: a 10-story sculptural assemblage that you’ll have to visit to truly understand.

Betting on culture, art and individualized experiences in the land of breweries and tailgating? The Saint Kate is indeed a leap of faith; a field of cultural dreams amidst the barley and hops. I can hear the whispers that must have been in the Marcus’ ears, “if you build it, they will come.” They definitely should—and will—if our community has a collective soul, and if the patron saint of art has any earthly powers at her disposal. (left) Lon Michels, Downtown Ladies, Acrylic on fiberglass mannequins, acrylic on umbrellas and acrylic on shoes, acrylic on wood base, 14’-20’ high, base: 48” x 36”, 2019, (right) Adam Carr, North Sixteenth Street, Digital photograph, 2018

This always-popular weekend festival features 180 national artists in many disciplines showing (and, of course, selling!) their work near the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Among the artist booths featured this year will be jewelers, painters, sculptors, photographers and printmakers.

Visitors can also browse pottery, drawings, digital art and works made from wood, glass, ceramics, metalwork and photography—all available for purchase. For young and old alike, there will be live theater, singing, music and dance, as well as opportunities to learn and create your own art pieces. Festival-goers will have many food and beverage options, including booths operated by local restaurants, the Marietta Wine Garden with views overlooking Lake Michigan and the lakeside Peroni Beer Garden. For more information, call 414-224-3200 or visit lfoa.mam.org.

“Home”

Saturday, June 22, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Lynden Sculpture Garden 2145 W. Brown Deer Road

“Home” is the theme for a community-led Free Family Day coordinated by artist-in-residence Kim Khaira and Rohingya refugee leader Hasinah Begum. Working together with other refugee community leaders, community members, Call & Response artists and allies, Lynden is building a space devoted to refugees. This free outdoor festival celebrates Milwaukee’s refugee communities through art, food, dance and music. Attendees can enjoy foods, crafts and performances on Lynden’s grounds and join several of its artists for workshops and activities; the latter include Arianne King Comer, Evelyn Patricia Terry, Scott Barton and Portia Cobb. You’re also invited to join a bird walk with artist-in-residence Chuck Stebelton. For more information, call 414-446-8794 or visit lyndensculpturegarden.org.

Precession of a Day: The World of Mary Nohl

Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.

John Michael Kohler Arts Center 608 New York Ave., Sheboygan

Drawing on the power of Wisconsin artist Mary Nohl’s lakefront art environment, Milwaukee-based songwriterperformer Marielle Allschwang and her band, The Visitations, created a song cycle titled Precession of a Day: The World of Mary Nohl. “At a moment when women, artists and the natural world seem especially vulnerable, I wish to offer my response to Mary Nohl’s environment as an empowering testament to all three,” Allschwang says. As a young child, her father drove her past Nohl’s artist-built environment on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Fox Point.

Decades later, Allschwang rediscovered the artist’s world: a yard full of concrete and driftwood sculptures and a home filled with creations inspired by the environment around it.

In Precession of a Day, Allschwang depicts Nohl as a woman immersed in her natural setting, making art. This will be the premiere performance of the song cycle, taking place on the eve of the closing of the center’s exhibition “Mary Nohl and the Walrus Club.” For tickets and more information, call 920-458-6144 or visit jmkac.org.

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A&E::FILM

[ FILM CLIPS ] Anna R Writer-director Luc Besson is known for action flicks, filled with kicks delivered by attractive men and women. This time, he recruited top Russian model and acting newcomer Sasha Luss to play the title role in Anna. She’s a Russian contract killer spending much of her time changing wigs and makeup to remain incognito, all while trying to stay alive. Helen Mirren, Luke Evans and Cillian Murphy bring credibility to the cast. The bottom line is, if you liked Besson’s La Femme Nikita, Transporter and Taken, this could be just your kind of film. (Lisa Miller)

Child’s Play R

‘Rocketman’

Elton John Flies High in ‘Rocketman’

tobiographical album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, which encapsulated the creative relationship between Elton and lyricist Bernie Taupin that was the basis for their string of hits. However, Rocketman explores what Captain Fantastic ignored—Elton’s sexuality, of which most of his fans were oblivious when the LP appeared in 1975.

The Reggie who recreated himself as El::BY DAVID LUHRSSEN ton came from a troubled home. As depicted in Rocketman, his father was a cold fish and he spectacle of Elton John’s de- mum’s neglect at least gave him free range to scent is visualized with unfor- discover piano under granny’s encouragement. gettable drama in Rocketman’s Mum’s new husband, part of Britain’s Teddy opening scene. Wearing a lurid Boy subculture, encouraged the lad’s interest jumpsuit, a devil-horned head- in rock ’n’ roll. After more song and dance, piece, sequined heart-shaped glasses and a set Rocketman lands Elton on the road backing of wings wider than a condor, the troubled per- British tours by American soul acts. Their choformer races down a corridor to fill an empty seat reography and glamor impress him. in a group therapy circle. Catching his breath, he The real turning point was his encounter admits to being an alcoholic—and a cocaine and with Taupin (Jamie Bell), and the film only sex addict, a bulimic shopaholic and a prescrip- hints at how prolific they were. From 1969 tion pill abuser unable to manage his anger. The through 1976, they wrote the songs that filled fellow addicts look on almost spellbound at the 13 albums (including one double LP). “I love apparition until the therapist asks, “What were you, I do—but not in that way,” Taupin tells you like as a child, Elton?”

Elton early on. They were brothers more than His childhood self, a lad called Reg- collaborators, and, in Rocketman, Taupin gie Dwight, materializes; Elton sings “The continually appears as the voice of reason Bitch is Back”; Reggie joins in, and the two that Elton refuses to hear—until it’s almost of them burst out of the doors and into the too late. outside world—the 1950s London suburban The therapy session invaded by the winged, neighborhood where Reggie grew up. The bespectacled rock star provides the framework street fills with dancers, their moves as sharp- for the movie’s sequence of flashbacks. One parelbowed as rock music, more athletic than ticularly well-choreographed scene depicts life graceful, as the number continues. at the peak of Elton’s mid-’70s It’s an audacious opening, stardom as a worldwide shopand for the most part, director ping spree fueled by champagne, Rocketman Dexter Fletcher (who completcocaine and sycophancy. But the ed Bohemian Rhapsody) mainTaron Egerton giddy exuberance of walking on tains the momentum even as the top of the world begins to slip.

Jamie Bell spectacle flirts with silliness.

Elton loses track of time and loDirected by But of course, by the mid-’70s, cation—“it’s lonely out in space,” Dexter Fletcher Elton’s showmanship went beas he sings in “Rocketman.” ReRated R yond flirtation with silliness. It lations with Taupin sour. The hits was a full-blown affair. stop coming.

Taron Egerton plays the Rocketman is as much mytholrock star with empathy (and resembles him ogy as history, yet its tale isn’t so tall that it loses physically as well). His Elton is a vivid, touch with the ground—even in that scene at complicated, believable person. His hurt is L.A.’s Troubadour club where a still-unknown palpable, as is the diffidence disguised by a Elton levitates behind the piano and brings the glittering cloak of flamboyance. The story audience with him into the air. The stars really told by British screenwriter Lee Hall (Billy were bright and captivating the imagination in Elliot) follows—to a point in time—the au- that lost age when pop music mattered deeply.

T

26 | J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9

This film reboots a 21-year-old franchise for the Internet age. When a killer realizes he is dying, he transfers his consciousness into a toddler-sized Chucky doll. That toy is soon purchased for young Andy. In order to kill those he wants dead, Chucky carries (or more often, drags) a large butcher knife, but he can also use his own Bluetooth capability to command other Bluetooth-enabled devices. The 1988 franchise gained a cult following that earned it six sequels.

For the reboot to follow suit, today’s sophisticated audiences need to also find the concept of a killer toy doll frightening. (L.M.)

Toy Story 4 G With Pixar calling the shots, the Toy Story films had some of the most sophisticated screenplays in contemporary Hollywood, entertaining adults with their analogies and references and kids with their colorful spectacle. With Pixar’s annexation by Disney, the level has gone down in this film franchise’s fourth episode, and yet there are messages here about the tension between individuality and community and about loyalty versus making new choices: Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) struggles with a lack of purpose in a different child’s home, while Bo (Annie Potts) shows a different path of independence. (David Luhrssen)

[ HOME MOVIES / NOW STREAMING ] n Room 37: The Mysterious Death of Johnny Thunders

In 1991, Johnny Thunders died in a New Orleans hotel room. “His death to this day is a mystery,” Room 37 declares. The imaginative 2019 dramatization tells a tragic story of the talented addict “trying to start a new chapter.” Leo Ramsey is fantastic as Thunders, a furtive and wan presence in the Crescent City’s bright sunlight. Working on a low budget (but nailing the period details), directors Vincente and Fernando Cordero spin an engrossing tale.

n “Sara Stein—From Berlin to Tel Aviv: The Complete Series”

Hard-charging Berlin homicide detective Sara Stein (Katharina Lorenz) doesn’t think much about her Jewish heritage. “My grandfather was a communist, and my mother was a gym teacher,” she says dismissively. But a murder case involving Israeli-Palestinian issues and a budding romance with a visiting Israeli concert pianist lead her to explore roots in the first of this fast-moving four-movie sequence. By episode two, Sara is in Israel, pursuing killers under the warm Mediterranean sun.

n Veronica Guerin

Cate Blanchett plays a bold-as-brass crime reporter for a Dublin paper whose crusading ego brings her deep into an investigation of drug trafficking. “Word of advice—stay away,” she’s told but of course, Veronica never listens. Directed by Joel Schumacher, Veronica Guerin (2003) is a smoothly polished production buoyed by good character acting by Colin Farrell and the supporting cast. Blu-ray features for this “based on a true story” include footage of the real Veronica Guerin.

n Lost in the Stars

Based on Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country, the Kurt WeillMaxwell Anderson musical Lost in the Stars was perhaps popular culture’s first encounter with apartheid. The 1974 American Film Theatre version was capably enacted with production values comparable to the era’s made-for-TV movies. Brock Peters (To Kill a Mockingbird) stars as a black preacher searching for his lost son in strictly segregated South Africa. Lost in the Stars begs for a big-budget remake.

—David Luhrssen SHEPHERD EXPRESS

A&E::BOOKS

BOOK|PREVIEW

Remembering Baseball with the Milwaukee Braves

B

::BY JENNI HERRICK

aseball has long been called America’s national pastime, and 60 years ago, baseball was at the height of its popularity. When the Milwaukee Braves moved to the city from Boston in 1953, more than two million local fans flooded the brand-new County Stadium annually during the team’s first five years in town. The team finished in second place in three of those five seasons before winning the National League Pennant and appearing in the World Series in both 1957 and 1958.

The hometown Braves experienced their best season in 1957, when they won it all in a grueling seven-game contest against the formidable New York Yankees. During that season, the Braves won 95 regular-season games, and the team’s success came from the contributions of perennial All-Star Eddie Mathews and the 23-year-old league MVP Hank Aaron, as well as from Cy Youngwinning pitcher Warren Spahn. Consistent victories were also the result of quality performances by the defensively minded first-baseman Frank Torre. Torre, who batted .273 over his seven-year career with the Milwaukee Braves and Philadelphia Phillies, experienced his best seasons in 1957 and 1958, leading the NL in fielding percentage and twice homering in the 1957 World Series.

Before he passed away in 2014 at the age of 82, Torre sat down with Wauwatosa native Cornelius Geary to share detailed personal stories of his time with the Braves organization. These timeless stories have been collected into the book All Heart: The Baseball Life of Frank Torre, which is filled with photographs, engaging narrative and new stories about some of the greatest players of all time.

Cornelius Geary will read from his new book at the Wauwatosa Public Library, 7635 W. North Ave., at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 20.

at the Milwaukee Art Museum

JUNE 21-23

Join us lakeside and enjoy one of the country’s top art festivals. Artists from across the nation will showcase work inside the Museum’s spectacular building and outdoors in a state of the art clear span tent. Art lovers will also take in all the family fun, music, food, and more!

JOIN US!

BOOK|HAPPENING Mary Alice Monroe

1 p.m., Monday, June 24 Books & Company • 1039 Summit Ave., Oconomowoc Mary Alice Monroe is a prolific environmental-fiction writer, and her novels have explored humanity’s dynamic relationships with fragile habitats and threatened species. The best-selling author’s new novel, The Summer Guests, brings together an eclectic cast of characters as they flee a coastal hurricane. With their lives upended by natural disaster, this heartfelt story follows each guest through a stress-filled week at a North Carolina farm. Monroe will visit Books & Company in Oconomowoc in support of her new novel.

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SHEPHERD EXPRESS

::OFFTHECUFF DAVE ZYLSTRA

CARROLL STUDIOS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

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Gerald Hay and Christopher Hege

Gaming for Everyone with IndependenceFirst

The Plunkett Family Foundation presents

OFF THE CUFF WITH CHRISTOPHER HEGE AND GERALD HAY ::BY TEA KRULOS

U

sing special adaptive controllers, IndependenceFirst has devised a gaming system that allows people with a wide range of disabilities to enjoy the thrill of entering video game worlds, everything from the sci-fi first-person shooter game Halo to a more mellow experience playing Abzû, a game that lets you swim along to explore the ocean. The controls allow more than one person to participate in playing the game at the same time. The benefits of game time are many, as Off the Cuff learned when we sat down with IndependenceFirst’s Christopher Hege, youth leadership coordinator, and Gerald Hay, Independent Living Services program manager.

Tell us more about this special game system.

C.H.: We’ve developed an adaptive gaming program to address the needs of anyone that wants to join in gaming. The typical controller needs both hands, full dexterity of all your fingers. What’s nice is Microsoft released the adaptive controller which teases out all the different buttons, all the different functions, so we can isolate them.

We worked with Microsoft and used our existing assistive technology library. We explored ways we can support people that have different abilities. People that are just utilizing their upper body, we’ve isolated controls where they can engage in video gaming, grip grasp, fine motor concerns. We’ve identified games that are good for low vision, low hearing, no hearing and no vision.

G.H.: This is kind of a nice way to highlight what we’re trying to do to show assistive technology doesn’t have to be stigmatized, it can be fun. It’s opening doors, so by using this we’re educating people that there are tools for anything you might want to do.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

How is video gaming beneficial to people with disabilities?

C.H.: The greatest resource I see is the access to social capital. The idea that there’s a whole community that I can hop online and in two minutes be interacting with someone who is on the other side of the country or the world and get visibility too—like on Twitch, which is a video streaming service of gameplay, which can increase visibility massively.

E-sports are huge. Marquette just announced their Tier 1 e-sports league, so we have it at college level but also participant level. E-sports are amazing, it’s scheduled to double in size by the end of this year, so people with disabilities can access that platform for visibility and participation. There’re opportunities for tuition and higher education, there’s opportunities for personal growth and participating in community.

G.H.: Having that “I can achieve something, I can have this set level of success,” whether it’s calming or just that sense of leisure or recreation, if you think about the things that make you you, yeah the work you do is important, but the way you express, or deal with stress is, too. You can express yourself and a lot of the limitations or barriers you might face in your day-to-day life aren’t going to found here.

We do a lot of social learning here, teamwork, problem solving. Video games let people win and not to be too dark or morbid here, you can die over and over in a video game until you succeed. In the real world, you don’t have those opportunities. If you fail, you’re done, whereas in this world you can build emotional resiliency.

“I can fail and it’s ok.” It’s not just about video games—it’s about a tool that allows you to do other things.

For more information on IndependenceFirst’s open houses and video game open play nights, email gaming@independencefirst.org and check out their website, independencefirst.org, to make a donation.

Based on a conception of Jerome Robbins | Book by Arthur Laurents Music by Leonard Bernstein | Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Directed by Mark Clements

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It’s pride month, but I’m not feeling very proud.

I’m in the closet, way in the back. No one in my life knows that I’m gay, and the feelings of loneliness, confusion, anxiousness and depression are becoming overwhelming.

I’m nearly 40, and I’m expected to be married with kids by now. I hate this feeling of being expected to be one way but truly being another way inside. I’d like to have a relationship with a man.

I’d like to love and be loved. I’d like to have sex.

I want to come out, but I just can’t seem to take that step. What will people think of me? Who will I lose in my life? What can I do?

Thank you for your time, Lonely & Confused

Dear LC, You dear, sweet man. Start by knowing that you are not alone. Many people struggle with the coming out process. The good news is that there is help! Start by seeing a professional therapist for your depression and anxiety. A good therapist will not only address these things but help you feel more comfortable and confident with your sexuality.

In addition, check out the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center at mkelgbt.org. The center hosts the Men’s Coming Out Group twice per month (first and third Tuesdays of the month). You should also consider volunteering at the center where you’ll make new friends and begin to feel part of the city’s LGBTQ community.

It’s important to discover who you are, find your voice and unleash your completely awesome greatness on the world. In the end, it’s ultimately about being comfortable in your own skin, being happy and using that comfort to steer your life in a positive direction. Take the steps I’ve noted above and set your course to the happiness you’ll find at the end of the rainbow.

::RUTHIE’SSOCIALCALENDAR June 20—Opening Night Zombies on Broadway at Off the Wall Theatre (127 E. Wells St.): Combine the creativity of theater God Dale Gutzman with original music by Chris Holoyda and Milwaukee’s coolest black box theater, and you get this insanely fun evening. Tap dancing zombies invade the show with hilarious results in this original musical that runs through June 30. See offthewallmke.com for show times and tickets.

June 20—Carrie Underwood’s “The Cry Pretty Tour” at Fiserv Forum (1111 Vel R. Phillips Ave.): Today’s queen of country, princess of pop and “American Idol” icon parks her tour bus in Cream City for a night of fun. Considered one of the top entertainers on the tour circuit, the talented, sexy spitfire offers up a 7 p.m. concert with opening acts Maddie & Tae and Runaway June. Grab your tickets at ticketmaster.com.

June 21—Opening Day of Lakefront Festival of the Arts at Milwaukee Art Museum (700 N. Art Museum Drive): More than 180 artists from across the country descend on this lovely lakefront property for three days of fine-art fun. Enjoy live music, food, wine and more as you shop vendors, treat the kids to family-friendly activities and more. The three-day fest opens at 10 a.m. each day and involves a $19 gate fee.

June 21—Down Under Disco at Swing Park (1737 N. Water St.): The team at NEWaukee hosts this free outdoor boogie that takes place under the Humboldt Street Bridge in Swing Park. Dancing, a DJ, beer and plenty of laughs make this a 7-10 p.m. night to remember. When the music ends, shake your tailfeather over to Eagle Park Brewing for the after party.

June 22—Madison’s Lilith Fair at High Noon Saloon (701 E. Washington Ave., Madison): Lilith Fair was one of the country’s largest women-forward music fests in history, and the spirit of that iconic concert is being revived in Madison. Rock out while giving to Wisconsin charities during the 4 p.m. concert. More than 25 singers and bands pay homage to the likes of Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt and Liz Phair. The $20 tickets are available via high-noon.com.

June 22-23—The Bloody Mary Festival at Fiserv Forum (1111 Vel R. Phillips Ave.): Love a good bloody? Then this is fest for you! Your ticket ($45.50 to $55.50) gets you samples of more than 14 of the best Bloody Marys in the state. Don’t miss the food tastings, live music and games as you sip your way through this silly, savory Saturday. For tickets, see eventbrite.com.

June 23—Ruthie’s Brunch Bunch at Hamburger Mary’s (730 S. Fifth St.): Join my brunch bunch when you visit Hamburger Mary’s for an all-you-can-eat buffet, bottomless mimosas and either (or both) of two shows! Doors open at 10 am, then enjoy a fast-and-funny show starring Joan Rivers, Tina Turner, Marilyn Monroe and others when “Brunch with the Stars” hits the stage at 11 a.m. Or, drop by for a second show, “Ruthie & the Brunchettes” at 1 p.m. Eat, drink and be Mary with me by calling 414488-2555 for your table.

June 23—Racine Pride Day at Racine City Hall (730 Washington Ave.): Still feeling the need for some pride-related fun? Take a quick drive down south for a noon-2 p.m. event featuring guest speakers, friendly faces and all the pride your little rainbow-colored heart can handle.

June 24—Courageous Conversations at Merrill Community Center (1428 Wisconsin Ave., Beloit): These monthly 5:30 sessions feature guest speakers sharing their struggles, successes and strategies for life within the LGBTQ community. This month’s lecture is conducted by Cass Marie Domino, a transgender woman who has brought her story to audiences across the country. Free and open to the public, the evening concludes at 7 p.m.

Ask Ruthie a question or share your events with her at dearruthie@shepex.com. Follow her on Instagram @ruthiekeester and Facebook at Dear Ruthie.

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The Inadvertent Activist: On MAM and James Nares

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::BY PAUL MASTERSON

henever the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) opens a new art exhibit, I do a bit of sleuthing. I’m always curious to learn if the featured artists identify as LGBTQ. I believe an intrinsic, subliminal or overt expression of any particular artist’s point of view can be attributed to their sexual orientation.

As the saying goes, art is life. By extension, to me, art created by an LGBTQ artist is LGBTQ life. So, when MAM announced, “James Nares: Moves,” the first retrospective of his half-century of work, I did my due diligence but found nothing that would confirm or imply his gay identity.

However, as the opening approached, rumors circulated about an interesting twist in the offing. As it turned out, it was the announcement of James Nares’ transition to “Jamie,” a surprising gender identity reveal to all, including MAM itself.

In fact, during the President’s Circle opening, Ms. Nares created a work on site in the museum’s East Gallery. The signage, no doubt prepared well in advance, still identifies the artist as “James.” While the collection in the retrospective is indeed by “James,” the new piece should be labeled “Jamie.” Surely, that will be corrected in due time.

When I invited Dylan Scholinski to exhibit his work at the Gay Arts Center in 2007, it would be Milwaukee’s first solo show by a transgender artist. It was also my first one-on-one engagement with a trans person. His personal insights helped me better understand the trans dynamic. But that was a dozen years ago when, beyond the confines of the LGBTQ community, broader trans awareness was extremely limited. Today, the struggle for trans rights makes national headlines almost daily with news of positive advances usually tempered by stories of institutional discrimination, health disparities and anti-trans violence.

Meanwhile, overheard during the President’s Circle opening was a question asked by an attendee, perhaps rhetorically or simply obliviously, “Why would a man want to become a woman?”

Gender identity is certainly a very personal matter, and while it’s MAM’s prerogative to

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answer the question or not, this inadvertent opportunity to address a timely social issue is too important to ignore. In a conversation I had with LGBTQ activist, philanthropist and museum donor Joe Pabst, he offered his take on the challenge MAM faces. “We are asked to respect the artist’s privacy, but that request suppresses information. Role models are scarce among minority and marginalized communities. Ms. Nares and MAM can fill the void to lead us to greater understanding and compassion by taking advantage of this teachable moment,” Pabst said. And, indeed, one recurring theme within the Nares’ retrospective is fluidity; her intuitive sense of that is further enhanced by a fixation on the circular form. This

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universal applies to gender as well. After all, art is life—in all its manifestations.

I understand MAM plans an outreach effort to local LGBTQ entities. Those would hopefully include FORGE and UW-Milwaukee’s Cary Costello, director of its LGBTQ studies program; he is also transgender. Both resources, among others, should be able to sensitively direct and develop an appropriate dialogue around Nares, her art and her gender identity.

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AN AMERICAN MUSIC & ART FESTIVAL

AUGUST 9-10, 2019 Naga-Waukee Park • Delafield, WI FRIDAY, AUGUST 9

MAURICE JOHN VAUGHN WITH GUESTS SHIRLEY JOHNSON, FREDDIE DIXON D JOSEPH MORGANFIELD JENNIE DEVOE • DJ AND THE BLUESERS • DERRINGER • ROCKONSIN 2019 FINALIST PRESENTED BY WAUKESHA ROTARY CLUB SATURDAY, AUGUST 10

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June

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21 GREG BROWN WITH BO RAMSEY 8 p.m.

29 GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA 8 p.m.

26 JAKE SHIMABUKURO 8 p.m.

30 RISING APPALACHIA 8 p.m.

21 28

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LYLE LOVETT & HIS LARGE BAND 8 p.m.

THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS BILL MEDLEY & BUCKY HEARD 8 p.m.

SHEMEKIA COPELAND & RANKY TANKY 7 p.m.

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5 BIG MOUTH & THE POWER TOOL HORNS with 1 TUSK: THE WORLD’S #1 TRIBUTE TO FLEETWOOD MAC 8 p.m.

WOODY MANKOWSKI 7 p.m.

11 SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS WITH SIERRA FERRELL 8 p.m.

13 LOVE LETTERS WITH MEREDITH BAXTER & 29 MAVIS STAPLES 8 p.m.

MICHAEL GROSS 7 p.m.

20 MANITOWOC MINUTE’S CHARLIE BERENS: September OH MY GOSH!? WITH THE SPECIAL CONSENSUS 7 p.m.

6 COMEDIAN, TOM PAPA 7 p.m.

25 THIRD COAST PERCUSSION: 9 CHOIR! CHOIR! CHOIR! 7 p.m.

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14 CATHY GRIER & THE TROUBLEMAKERS 7 p.m.

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::MUSIC MUSIC

BRIAN ZIFF

FEATURE | ALBUM REVIEWS | CONCERT REVIEWS | LOCAL MUSIC

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WALK THE MOON RETURN with A SHARPER ROCK EDGE ::BY ALAN SCULLEY

ith their current album What If Nothing, Walk The Moon haven’t just returned from an extended gap between albums. The band has come back with a whole new level of understanding about the kind of music they want to make at this point in their career and what being part of Walk The Moon means to them.

Ray adds it was hard to ask tough questions of each other, but the answers showed that the four musicians still had plenty of common ground and a shared sense of purpose. “I think discovering that we all still had a lot of the same intentions was so comforting,” he says.

They also agreed that, with the album that became What If Nothing, they wanted to rock up their sound and lyrically address some of the issues with which they had confronted leading into the project.

Actually, the group, which began in 2006 in Cincinnati and notched a top-10 It’s all the result of a period of considerable uncertainty that alternative rock hit with “Anna Sun” from their 2012 self-titled major label debut began in summer of 2016 when the group canceled a tour so album, had already shown some lyrical depth on Talking is Hard. “Shut Up and singer-guitarist Nicholas Petricca could be with his father, who Dance” may have created the perception of a band that’s all light and sweet, was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. but other songs on that album (“Up 2 U” and “Different Colors”) went considerAccording to bassist Kevin Ray, the unplanned stoppage came at a bad time ably deeper in subject matter. career wise. “Shut Up and Dance,” the single from the second Walk The Moon “The last record, I think we were trying to deal with a lot of stuff outside of ouralbum, Talking is Hard, had spent seven weeks in summer 2015 in the top five on Billboard magazine’s all-genre Hot 100 chart on its way to becoming a triple- selves,” Ray explains. “We were trying to answer a lot of questions about the world and the environment and politics or whatever. And now we just sort of wrote what platinum hit. Pulling the plug on the tour, as necessary as it might have been, we know, looked inside and just asked questions that we had.” meant the band wouldn’t be able to build on the momentum that had been The more serious lyrical content, though, doesn’t keep Walk The Moon from generated by their breakout hit. sounding plenty upbeat musically on What if Nothing. The band “For me personally, it was a strain, because I saw what we makes good on bringing more of a rock edge to the proceedings had built with ‘Shut Up and Dance’ just sort of lingering in with songs like “Headphones” (a rare pop song to feature guitars) limbo and not capitalizing on it,” Ray says. “It was tough. It was Walk the Moon and an overall anthemic feel to the album. But fans don’t have to really, really tough.”

Summerfest’s Uline worry that Walk The Moon has lost its pop chops. Hooks abound What started as a canceled tour soon grew into a hiatus. PetWarehouse Stage throughout, and songs like the bouncy “One Foot” (which topped ricca was dealing with the death of his father and other personWednesday, Billboard’s Alternative Songs singles chart) and the hip-hop flaal issues. And for all four band members—Petricca, Ray, guitarJune 26, 10 p.m. vored “Kamikaze” (a top 10 alternative rock single) should please ist Eli Maiman and drummer Sean Waugaman—stepping away the “Shut Up and Dance” crowd. from music prompted them to face some important questions That sort of upbeat atmosphere will carry over to the group’s that had been hanging over the band unanswered up to then.

“I think trust is a big part of it, trust that each member of the group is focused concerts, Ray said. The band hopes that as touring continues and more music is released (the group recently released a new single, “Time Bomb,” which is not on What on making the same thing for the same reason or at least the right thing for the If Nothing and went top 15 on the Alternative Songs chart), venues will grow bigger right reasons,” Ray says. “You spend so long on this daily basis with each other and so will the visual production the group can employ in the show. that if you talk about all these deep, emotional things, it’s so draining. So you “We have the future in mind, and we have the biggest possible version of spend a lot of time in like a casual relationship with each other, because you ourselves in mind, and we’re working toward that,” Ray says. “It’s finally going can’t get away from each other, and you don’t address those things, and not to be time for us to have our party the way we’ve wanted to. That’s what we’re just the issues, but just being able to talk deeply and emotionally about what most excited about.” we’re doing here and what it means to us and exploring ourselves. We spent so Walk The Moon will perform at Summerfest’s Uline Warehouse Stage on Wednesmany years not discussing just what the band meant to each other, because we day, June 26, at 10 p.m. were on the road every day playing shows.”

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::THISWEEKINMILWAUKEE

O P E N I N G F O R F O G H AT B M O H A R R I S PAV I L I O N T H U R S D AY, J U N E 2 7 AT 2 P M

NRBQ

THURSDAY, JUNE 20 NRBQ @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.

The New Rhythm and Blues Quartet has been through a few lineup shifts in the band’s evolution. Keyboardist-frontman Terry Adams helped start the combo in the mid-’60s.

For a band as musically omnivorous as NRBQ, it made sense that 2016’s High Noon—A 50-Year Retrospective would be released on the Omnivore label. That collection included a slew of new material with new members. The recent reissue of 1977’s All Hopped Up unearthed four bonus cuts.

But the live setting is where the Q created its legend. Passing the hat to take requests and venturing into any musical genre known to man (and likely inventing new ones in the process)—as the cliché goes, if they don’t move you check for a pulse. www.sacred.band

Viento Callejero w/ The Shebeegeebees @ John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 7 p.m.

Using Afro-Latin Colombian cumbia rhythms as building blocks, Viento Callejero (multi-instrumentalists and producers Gloria Estrada and Tony Sauza) weave in electronic, experimental and psychedelic soundscapes. While Viento Callejero acknowledge history, the forward-thinking sounds give the music a vital edge.

Viento Callejero

FRIDAY, JUNE 21

The Minus 5 w/ Mike Fredrickson @ Anodyne Coffee, 8 p.m.

It’s hard to believe The Minus 5, a band that began as a side project, has just released album 13. While not usually considered a lucky number, the title Stroke Manor is a reference to leader Scott McCaughey’s 2017 health scare. Fortunately, McCaughey is back in the saddle. With a pedigree that includes The Young Fresh Fellows (whose long-ago Odd Rock Café show was a free-for-all), The Miracle Three, R.E.M. and the Baseball Project, they have a wealth of history to call upon. That this free-wheeling band is playing the night after their musical uncles at Shank Hall demonstrates Milwaukee’s embarrassment of riches. Opener Mike Fredrickson, who is currently working on his 52nd album, should be the perfect fit.

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::THISWEEKINMILWAUKEE

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

Ceiling Spirits w/ Tontine Ensemble and Nicholas Elert @ Miramar Theater, 8 p.m.

Mario Quadracci can relate to the needle in the haystack with Ceiling Spirits, his musical project. “As luck would have it, a well-known record producer stumbled upon a video of one of my shows at Shank Hall on YouTube.” As Quadracci says, “He suggested we make a record.”

The journey led to recording sessions in Ireland with 21 of that country’s best string players handpicked from its premiere symphony orchestras. The album, released in 2018, was produced by Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Wire, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. This show will be the first time Quadracci performs the album live.

TUESDAY, JUNE 25 Xalaat Africa @ The Uptowner, 7p.m.

In the opinion of Eric Blowtorch, “They sound how the Clash might have sounded after Combat Rock, if managers, drugs and money hadn’t fucked everything up.” Each week, Yaya Kambaye’s uplifting ensemble Xalaat Africa offers to broaden musical horizons at this humble corner tap. Kambaye (vocals, kora, drums) is joined by Salia Camara (drums, vocals), Laurie Asch (violin) and Glenn Asch (plucked viola), moonlighting from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Otis Taylor

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26 Otis Taylor and the Psychedelic Banjo Posse @ Summerfest Johnson Controls World Stage, 8 p.m.

Otis Taylor’s music is devastating. A master of hypnotic blues, often building a song from a single chord and a groove, the multi-skilled instrumentalist’s arsenal includes guitar, banjo and mandolin, and his music is populated with a full band including horns, cello, djembe and slide guitar. In three minutes, his tune “Just Live Your Life” boils down his existential blues philosophy.

“Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat” reimagines the murder ballad, and he describes the album of the same name as “about decisions and their consequences. It’s about how decisions and the actions that result can change our lives, the lives of our families and the lives of people we don’t even know.” His 15th album, 2017’s Fantasizing About Being Black, continues a career filled with unflinching tales.

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::CONCERTREVIEW

6/20 Dogbad 6/27 No 414 Live SUMMERFEST

D

::BY HARRY CHERKINIAN

avid Gray has consistently challenged his fan base to follow his musical wanderings since his 1999 breakthrough release, White Ladder.

At his Riverside appearance last weekend, he spent the first 45 minutes playing music from his new 2019 release, Gold in a Brass Age. Best known for his electronic-influenced folk music, he’s updated his “folktronica” leanings with spare arrangements repeating key melodic phrases over and over amid computer generated blips and bleeps.

The opening number, “Mallory,” took a quiet, plaintive ballad and electrified it live, culminating in a monumental crescendo of sound that engulfed the near-capacity audience. It was a good omen of the two hours of masterful musicianship to come.

Gray and his four accompanying musicians played close together on stage, and the synergy was apparent; the new songs sparkled with laser-like precision and bright harmonies amid a backdrop of simply drawn illustrations taken from nature. “The Sapling,” “Hall of Mirrors” and the title track asked the audience to follow along as Gray took a new path, mindful of his folkish roots but also reaching out to grasp the latest technology. In “If 8 Were 9,” Gray demonstrated what a true poet he is, a hopeless romantic that aspires to true love, styled for 21st century listening.

Ever the gentleman, Gray thanked the audience for patiently listening to the new music and then launched into his most popular songs: “My Oh My,” “The One I Love” and the audience singalong, “Babylon.” The familiar tunes were made new with pulsating synthesizer beats and rollicking rearrangements. Even the show’s final encore, “Please Forgive Me,” got jazzed up, giving the song’s lyrics a positive sheen.

Gray, ever the eternal optimist, proved once again why his music stays so fresh and engaging while remaining enduring.

Opening act Gaby Moreno grabbed the audience’s attention from the start of her 30-minute set with her fiery acoustic guitar playing which mixed R&B and soul, amid jazz infections with some bossa nova thrown in. The Guatemalan-born singer and songwriter moved easily between English and Spanish and showcased new music like “Till Morning Light” with powerhouse vocals that shined through. But it was the anthemic “Across the Borderline” (written by Ry Cooder and John Hiatt for the 1982 film The Border) about immigrants and denied dreams that showcased her independent spirit and timely message—still resonating 37 years later.

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Browns Crew Draw from Hip-Hop, Alt-Rock and Community Pride ::BY NAYELI PORTILLO

hris Piszczek and Sebastián Daniel (aka Chris P. and Sebas), better known as Browns Crew, hail from the South Side of Milwaukee. It’s not the South Side you hear about on a breaking news segment, and it’s not the South Side being taken over by carbon copies of look-alike lofts pricing out folks with roots in the area. It’s the South Side—the one with a rich, decades-spanning history of Latinos making music in the Midwest, an unmistakable sense of community spirit among those that live there, generations of people advocating for positive change and a strong sense of pride in its immigrant roots.

“I think it’s sad that other folks have controlled our narrative so much that people will say stuff like, ‘It’s good that this is being gentrified, because this was dirty and nasty,’ and stuff like that,” says Chris P. “We have so many assets in our community like who our neighbors are and historic spots.” Assets like the nationally renowned Latino Arts Strings Program through the United Community Center, which both members say they would like to see more of across the city.

“It should be a regular thing, because our culture is so rich,” Sebas adds. “We come from music, dancing, drumming and movement. You know?”

Chris and Sebas met back in middle school and naturally befriended each other given their love for the arts. They explored an array of genres like jazz, old-school hip-hop and alternative rock in their early teenage years and, not long after, they moved onto freestyling over the series of beats their friends would create at (and on) the lunch table.

However, it wasn’t until they took a trip to Mexico around the age of 18 that the childhood friends started to consider turning their interest in freestyling at parties into a more seri-

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Browns Crew

the vibe and sonic structure they were looking for. The duo ous music project (Chris laughs and says Sebas was actually was immediately sold on Los Imparciales, and the only step the one that pushed him to record and release material). left was to ask the Buenos Aires-based group if they would But jokes aside, it’s clear that the trip to Oaxaca holds much be willing to record an instrumental piece that Browns Crew significance for a number of reasons as they recount their could pen lyrics to, to which they agreed. summer there. It also served as an opportunity for them to Treble-y surf guitar plays off of an assemblage of perconnect with local teacher and worker communities docussion instruments (complete with cowbells and timing grassroots activism. “That’s where we came up with the baletas) that drives the hypnotic pace of the song as Chris name Browns Crew,” Chris states. “Being conscious of brown and Sebas sing “Soy cumbiero y curandero/digo lo que pride, our culture and how we came up. It’s also a play on siento/Hago lo que quiero,” “Solo soy un niño callejero/ the term ‘grounds crew’ and thinking about the [earth], who Bien rico con poco dinero/Bailando paso a pasito/En la works it and maintains it.” vida no hay prisa/hay que darle despacito.”

The duo draws influences from bolero super-trio Los The motive behind “Mil Aires” is evident Panchos and alternative hip-hop heavywithin the first few seconds of listening: weights like Black Star and A Tribe Called Los Imparciales and Browns Crew are here Quest. They’re especially determined to Browns Crew for the resistance, but they came here to keep some of those key elements like Summer Solstice get everybody moving first, or better yet, socially conscious lyrics, storytelling and Festival to “bailar y gozar.” traditional instrumentation alive through Saturday, June 22 “I feel like what we’re doing is very closely their music. Despite working in what they Summerfest connected to the roots of hip-hop. There’s say were rewarding positions at local nonThursday, June 27 a code,” says Sebas. “I think we keep those profits and in educational fields, both Chris principles alive when it comes to building up and Sebas made the decision to reactivate our community, empowering ourselves and Browns Crew earlier last year. having our voices heard. Hip-hop was birthed in the hood.

Browns Crew’s latest single, “Mil Aires,” features the psyIt’s like we’re the branches of that tree. I want to think of us chedelic rock-saturated Peruvian-style cumbia (sometimes as watering those roots and keeping those things but also referred to as cumbia “chicha”) sounds from Argentina-based infusing our own thoughts, visions and experiences.”

Agrupacion Ilegal Los Imparciales (“Los Imparciales” for Browns Crew will play at the Summer Soulstice Festival short). Browns Crew says they had spent some time checking on Saturday, June 22, and on Thursday, June 27, at Sumout different artist profiles via Soundcloud and Bandcamp in merfest. hopes of finding a potential collaborator that could map out

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MUSIC::LISTINGS To list your event, go to shepherdexpress.com/events and click submit an event

THURSDAY, JUNE 20

Anodyne Coffee, Luxi // Laska // Woodrow Cactus Club, Potty Mouth w/Colleen Green & Justus Proffit Caroline’s Jazz Club, Neil Rose Blues Trio w/Smiling Bobby Cathedral Square Park, Jazz in the Park: Radio Free Honduras (6pm) Clarke Hotel (Waukesha), Ginni & JoAnna Marie (6pm) Colectivo Coffee (Lakefront), Musica del Lago @ Colectivo Lakefront County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Acoustic Irish Folk w/Barry Dodd Jackalope Lounj, Big Beat MKE 2019: Shle Berry, Twan Mack and A.C. The Ruler Jazz Estate, OGD Trio Reunion John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan), Viento Callejero w/ The Shebeegeebees Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Open Jam: Roadhouse Rave Up Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Milwaukee Peace Corps Association Story Slam Mason Street Grill, Mark Thierfelder Jazz Trio (5:30pm) Matty’s Bar & Grille (New Berlin), Smokin’ Live & Local: AM Radio (5pm) McAuliffe’s On The Square, Open Mic Night O’Donoghues Irish Pub (Elm Grove), The All-Star SUPERband (6pm) On the Bayou, Open Mic Comedy w/host The Original Darryl Hill Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom, The Royal Hounds Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Xeno & Joe Rounding Third Bar and Grill, World’s Funniest Free Comedy Show Shank Hall, NRBQ Sheryl’s Club 175 (Slinger), Acoustic Jam w/Milwaukee Mike & Downtown Julius South Milwaukee Downtown Market, Summer Concerts: Strangelander (5pm) The Baaree (Thiensville), A Night of Magic w/Glen Gerard - Kid Friendly! (6:30pm) The Back Room at Colectivo, The Way Down Wanderers The Packing House Restaurant, Barbara Stephan & Peter Mac (6pm) Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Latin Sessions: Cecilio Negron Jr. Turner Hall Ballroom, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe Up & Under Pub, A No Vacancy Comedy Open Mic Village Hall Park (Waterford), Waterford River Rhythms: Altered Five Blues Band (6:30pm)

FRIDAY, JUNE 21

Alley Cat Lounge (Five O’Clock Steakhouse), Rafael Mendez American Legion Post #399 (Okauchee), Four Wheel Drive American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Off the Record Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Julie’s Piano Karaoke Anodyne Coffee, The Minus 5 w/The Mike Fredrickson Band Art*Bar, Stella & Me Cactus Club, Cult of Lip w/Double Grave, Lifetime Achievement Award & Blue Unit Cafe Carpe (Fort Atkinson), Jon Parrot & Tom Waselchun w/Michael Britz Caroline’s Jazz Club, Donna Woodall Group Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: The Stick Arounds w/Floor Model (8pm); DJ: The French Connection (10pm)

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38 | J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9

Clarke Hotel (Waukesha), Dick Eliot Jazz Guitar (6pm) Club Garibaldi, Tlalok w/Fuzzysurf, Sleepy Gaucho & The Sunkin Suns Colectivo Coffee (Lakefront), Friday Nite Music Series ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee!

County Clare Irish Inn & Pub, Traditional Irish Ceilidh Session Holy Apostles Catholic Church, Family Festival: The Toys Iron Mike’s (Franklin), Jam Session w/Steve Nitros & the Liquor Salesmen Jazz Estate, Aaron Parks - Little Big (7pm & 9:30pm) Kuhtz General Store (Oconomowoc), Maple Road Blues Band Lakefront Brewery, Brewhaus Polka Kings (5:30pm) Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Solar Plexus w/Curtis Crump Collective & The Pollyanna Mamie’s, The Blues Disciples Mason Street Grill, Phil Seed Trio (6pm) McAuliffe’s Pub (Racine), Jake O’ & Co Mill Pond Plaza (Menomonee Falls), Larry Lynne Solo (6:30pm) Milwaukee Ale House, Ripple Effect Duo Monument Square (Racine), Music on the Monument: Earthmother (4pm) Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom, The Rogue Electrics w/The Zimmer Effect Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Amber & Adam Rave / Eagles Club, Light Up The Night w/Nate Derus & Athenis (all-ages, 7:30pm) Rivermoor Golf Club, Tomm Lehnigk Sloppy Joe’s (Hubertus), Matt MF Tyner & Leroy Deuster Duo The Baaree (Thiensville), Friday Night Live w/Swing Chevron (6pm) The Back Room at Colectivo, The Werks w/Spare Change Trio The Bay Restaurant, Anne Davis Turner Hall Ballroom, Wine & Crime Podcast Up & Under Pub, Spooky Boo Walker’s Point Music Hall, Captain Ivory w/The Truck

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

American Legion Post #399 (Okauchee), The Sonic Boomers Band American Legion Post #449 (Brookfield), Drive With Horns Art*Bar, Greg Herriges Cactus Club, HH Presents: Mystic Braves w/Kainalu Caroline’s Jazz Club, The Paul Spencer Band w/Adekola Adedapo, James Sodke, Aaron Gardner & Michael Ritter Cedar Creek Park (Cedarburg), Blues Bash (1:30pm): The Stephen Hull Experience w/Pierre “Mr. Untouchable” Lee, Milwaukee Mike & the Mob, and Altered Five Blues Band Cedarburg Community Center, Acoustic Blu (1pm) Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Natural Velvet w/Witch Bolt (8pm); DJ: Quixotic Control (10pm) Club Garibaldi, Magnetic Minds ComedySportz Milwaukee, ComedySportz Milwaukee!

East North Ave, Summer Soulstice Music Festival (12pm) Five O’Clock Steakhouse, Kirk Tatnall Fox Point Farmers’ Market, Darele Bisquerra (10am) Holy Apostles Catholic Church, Family Festival: Almighty Vinyl (6:30pm) Jazz Estate, John Christensen Quartet (8pm), Late Night Session: Garrett Waite Trio (11:30pm) Juneau Park, June at Juneau (3pm) Kiwanis Beach Party on Pewaukee Lake, The Ricochettes (2pm) Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Brian Wurch Band Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Between The Low w/Horace Greene & Fools & Lovers Mason Street Grill, Jonathan Wade Trio (6pm) Mezcalero Restaurant, CP & Stoll w/Chris Peppas & Jeff Stoll Milwaukee Ale House, Zoot Suit Boogie Miramar Theatre, Ceiling Spirits w/Tontine Ensemble & Nicholas Elert (all-ages, 8pm) Mo’s Irish Pub (Downtown), The Style Monument Square (Racine), Saturday Sounds on the Square: Dave Braun Jazz (4pm) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, Christopher’s Project Rave / Eagles Club, New Found Glory w/Real Friends, The Early November & Doll Skin (all-ages, 7:30pm), Bachata Bash w/Casper (all-ages, 7:30pm) Riverwest Pizza, Elevator Trio (6pm) The Cheel (Thiensville), Leroy Airmaster The Landing Food & Spirits, Joe Kadlec The Local/Club Anything, Grendel: Ascending the Abyss 2019 The Packing House Restaurant, Joe Jordan & The Soul Trio (6:30pm) The Rock Sports Complex, In the Umbrella Bar: Stetsin & Lace (6:30pm) Up & Under Pub, Audio is Rehab

SUNDAY, JUNE 23

Angelo’s Piano Lounge, Live Karaoke w/Julie Brandenburg Cactus Club, Among Authors w/LUXI, Happy Heartbreak & Justin Regner Cedar Creek Park (Cedarburg), Blues Bash (1pm): Maple Road Blues Band, Rev. Raven & the Chain Smokin’ Altar boys w/Westside Andy, Alex Wilson Band & The Jimmys

::ALBUMS Circle-A Cafe, Alive at Eight: Derek Pritzl & Friends (8pm); DJ: Sextor (10pm) Four Points by Sheraton Milwaukee (North Shore), T.O.T.S Founders Day Jazz Luncheon (12pm) Holy Apostles Catholic Church, Family Festival: The Doo-Wop Daddies (1:30pm) J&B’s Blue Ribbon Bar and Grill, The Players Jam Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, A Tribute To Hank Williams: Alex Ballard and Sugarfoot, Matt Davies Duo, Hayward Williams, & The Chris Haise Band (2:30pm) Matty’s Bar & Grille (New Berlin), Summer Concert w/Wait For Morning (3pm) Rave / Eagles Club, Why Don’t We w/Bryce Vine, Ava Max & Indiana Massara (all-ages, 7pm) Riverwest Gardeners Market, Jonny T-Bird & Big Dad (12pm) Rounding Third Bar and Grill, The Dangerously Strong Comedy Open Mic The Baaree (Thiensville), Open Jam w/Andrew Gelles & Friends (4pm) The Packing House Restaurant, Jazz Unlimited Open Jam: The Smith and Binder Quartet (1pm)

MONDAY, JUNE 24

Cactus Club, Big Brave w/Dreadnought & Lost Tribes of the Moon Jazz Estate, Monday Blues w/Jonny T-Bird Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Poet’s Monday w/host Timothy Kloss & featured reader Monai (sign-up 7:30pm, 8-11pm) Mason Street Grill, Joel Burt Duo (5:30pm) Paulie’s Pub and Eatery, Open Jam w/hosts Josh Becker, Annie Buege, Ally Hart or Marr’lo Parada The Crimson Club, Metal Mondays Up & Under Pub, Open Mic w/Marshall McGhee and the Wanderers

TUESDAY, JUNE 25

Brewtown Eatery, Blues & Jazz Jam w/Jeff Stoll & David “Harmonica” Miller (6pm) Cactus Club, Waveless w/Operations & Beach Burial Chill On the Hill (Humboldt Park), Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra w/Daley Debutantes Baton and Drum Corp (6pm) Ivy House, Sourced: Keith Pulvermacher Jazz Estate, The Erotic Adventures Of The Static Chicken Kim’s Lakeside (Pewaukee), Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, MADACC fundraiser w/One Lane Bridge Konkel Park, The Blues Disciples w/Miss Erica (6pm) Mamie’s, Open Blues Jam w/Marvelous Mack Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) McAuliffe’s Pub (Racine), The Jim Yorgan Sextet Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White (4pm) Red Circle Inn, Dick Eliot & Greg Shaffer (6pm) Riverside Theater, Rhett & Link Riverwest Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts, Jazz Jam Session Route 20 Outhouse (Sturtevant), Eyes Set To Kill w/Rivals, Awake At Last & Softspoken (ages 18-plus, 7:30pm) The Baaree (Thiensville), Alive After 5 w/Soulfoot Mombits (6pm) Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, Neal Chandek B-Day Bash w/Transfer House Band Uptowner, Xalaat Africa

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26

Bud Pavilion - Wisconsin State Fair Park, Wednesday Night Live: Almighty Vinyl (6pm) Cactus Club, Washington Park Wed Afterparty w/Boulevards & DJ Boyfrrriend Caroline’s Jazz Club, Wicked Long Day Deer District, Beer Garden: Jake Warne (5pm) Hudson Business Lounge and Cafe, Jazz at Noon: Don Linke and Friends Iron Mike’s (Franklin), B Lee Nelson & KZ Acoustic Jam Jazz Estate, MRS. FUN / Neil Davis / Ethan Bender / Record Session Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, Polka Open Jam Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, Acoustic Open Stage (sign-up 7:30pm, start 8pm) Mason Street Grill, Jamie Breiwick Group (5:30pm) Paulie’s Field Trip, Wednesday Night Afterparty w/Dave Wacker & guests Pere Marquette Park, River Rhythms: Radio Radio (6:30pm) Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, In Bar 360: Al White Rotary Performance Pavilion (Wauwatosa), Tosa Tonight: Roanoke w/The Ryann Lyn Band (6pm) Saint Kate, the Arts Hotel - The Arc Theater, Nickel&Rose Sunset Grill Pewaukee, Robert Allen Jr. & Friends Tally’s Tap & Eatery (Waukesha), Tomm Lehnigk The Cheel (Thiensville), Standard Issue w/Sue Russell (6:30pm) The Packing House Restaurant, Carmen Nickerson & Kostia Efimov (6pm) The Suburban Bourbon (Muskego), Larry Lynne Band (6:30pm) Washington Park, Washington Park Wednesdays: Cactus Club presents Venus Rising, Zed Kenzo, Saebra&Carlyle, Shle Berry, DJ DRiPSweat & DJ Boyfrrriend (5pm)

Various Artists Stax “Soul Explosion” (CRAFT RECORDINGS) In 1969, Memphis-based Stax Records had already ended its contract with the Atlantic label and lost a formidable catalogue of recordings by Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave and others. Stax executives began a major rebuilding effort, launching 27 albums and 30 singles in several months in an effort they called the “Soul Explosion.” The effort took and the label caught fire.

On May 31, Craft Recordings released its own Soul Explosion, a double-vinyl set featuring a host of those Stax artists, both well-known and forgotten. Kicking off the rhythmic set is Johnnie Taylor’s infectious “Who’s Making Love,” one of the label’s most successful recordings.

Selections by Booker T. & The M.G.s, Eddie Floyd, The Staple Singers, The BarKays, some sweet blues from Albert King and other artists round out a rich mix.

The release was timed to coincide with the start of Black Music Month, and Craft Recordings will release 30 more recordings throughout June by many of the Soul Explosion artists, as well as Little Milton, Melvin Van Peebles, Rufus Thomas and other acts. Time to rebuild that R&B record collection, brothers and sisters.

—Michael Muckian

The Last Bees The Last Bees This far into the 21st century, the circa 1964 Beatles can still enchant youthful musicians. The six songs on The Last Bees adhere to Fab Four formalism instrumentally and melodically, but not as much lyrically. Songwriter Ian Ash can be caustic over bubbly sweet guitar passages, and uses current phrases like “comfort zone”; still, it’s a touch goofy to hear someone possibly young enough to be one of the Fab Four’s grandchildren sing of taking his beloved to a drive-in movie. That faint air of “this all being a lark,” down to the yellow suit he sports in pictures promoting the release, merges well into a reverence for John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s songcraft.

—Jamie Lee Rake SHEPHERD EXPRESS

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Disclaimer: The Shepherd Express makes no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding any advertising. Due diligence is recommended before entering into any agreement with an advertiser. The Shepherd Express will not be held liable for any damages of any kind relating to any ad. Please check your ad the first day of publication and notify us of any changes. We are not responsible for errors in advertising after the first day. We reserve the right to edit, reject or reclassify advertisements in our sole discretion, without notice.

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J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9 | 39

BREAKUPS

THEME CROSSWORD

By James Barrick

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

© 2019 United Feature Syndicate, Dist. by Andrews McMeel Syndication

40 | J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 1 9

DOWN 1. Grating sound 2. Greek pitcher 3. Vendition 4. Scraps 5. Galleries 6. Aspen relative 7. Rhapsodize 8. Gobbled 9. Of ancient Greeks 10. The “final frontier” 11. Constitutionals 12. — vera 13. Doctor’s order 14. Old drivers of wagons

15. Tyrant 16. Geyserite 17. Leslie Caron role 18. Go now!

24. “— Were the Days” 29. Part of MIT: Abbr.

30. Outbuilding 32. — Heights 34. Very, in music 35. Flashy accessories 36. Ice cream dessert: 2 wds.

37. Chair part 38. Size 39. Sported 40. Filmmaking technique: 2 wds.

41. Midway alternative 42. Longed 44. Portents 45. Oklahoma resident 46. Releases 49. Lets 51. City on the Ruhr 53. Fastener 54. Destructive insect 55. Destined 58. Leaves unmentioned 59. Obvious 61. Arrow poison 63. Coup —

64. Early Impressionist painter 65. Introduce (with “in”) 66. Norman Vincent — 67. Ship’s crane 68. Ascended 69. — seal 70. Tinters 73. Oven 74. Rouse 78. Went beyond 79. Santiago denizens 81. Hare’s tail 82. Jalapenos 83. Hut of a kind: Var. 84. Conflict 86. Act of folly 88. Tried to anger 90. Necktie 91. HELOCs 92. Veiled one 93. Intoxicating drink 94. — du jour 95. For fear that 96. Part of QED 97. Verdi work 98. Oversupply 99. Deck on a ship 100. Dismal 101. Invites 105. “Harper Valley —”

Solution to last week’s puzzle

6/13 Solution

WORD FIND This is a theme puzzle with the subject stated below. Find the listed words in the grid. (They may run in any direction but always in a straight line. Some letters are used more than once.) Ring each word as you find it and when you have completed the puzzle, there will be 26 letters left over. They spell out the alternative theme of the puzzle.

Aussie TV Solution: 26 Letters

© 2019 Australian Word Games Dist. by Creators Syndicate Inc.

76. Dutch painter 77. Form of “John” 78. Alleviated 79. Bird bill part 80. Man in the Pelican State 81. Certain ballot: 2 wds.

84. Gladden 85. Reserved 87. Secluded place among hills 88. Window treatment 89. Copy: Abbr.

90. Tired: 2 wds.

92. False god 93. Cook’s creation: 3 wds.

98. Opera by Vivaldi 102. Butterine 103. Heath genus 104. Quibble: 2 wds.

106. Abbr. in grammar 107. Gaseous element 108. Composition 109. A state: Abbr.

110. Courtroom fig.

111. Data 112. Obsolete 113. Blubbers

ABC Acts Ads Audio Ben Billy Board Bowls Bridget Cable Commercial Cops Drama Episode Events

Football Fun Ghosting Golf Interview IVF Karl Kate Live Local Lou Lucas Pin Oak Court Play

Rage Regional RPA Rugby league SBS Scott Show Sketch Soccer Sport Susan Ten Tone Tune

6/13 Solution: Up for a game of doubles SHEPHERD EXPRESS

Solution: Great tv keeps you wanting more

ACROSS 1. Geller of “Friends” 5. Connor of “Terminator” 10. Turf 15. Guard and guide 19. — -a-Dale 20. Slacken 21. More pasty 22. Colossal 23. Dwelling type: Hyph.

25. Fish genus 26. Narrative 27. Door feature 28. Quickly: Hyph.

31. Cornbread 32. Kelly and Hackman 33. Conductance unit 34. Nun 37. “— of Anarchy” 38. Tropical fruit 43. Blackboard 44. Rapid: Hyph.

47. After upsilon 48. Misdeeds 49. A flower 50. Second caliph 51. — vital 52. Literary collection 53. Kicked off 54. Cooked 56. Father 57. Like a know-nothing 59. — Vecchio 60. Deposed 62. Stockpile 63. Ventures 64. Gloomy ones 65. Positive aspect 67. Hinder 68. Courted 71. Calendar abbr.

72. Dancer on ice 74. Oenophile’s passion 75. Manta

Creators Syndicate 737 3rd Street • Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 310-337-7003 • info@creators.com

Date: 6/20/19

::FREEWILLASTROLOGY ::BY ROB BREZSNY GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the next four weeks, you’re not likely to win the biggest prize or tame the fiercest monster or wield the greatest power. However, you could very well earn a second- or third-best honor. I won’t be surprised if you claim a decent prize or outsmart a somewhat menacing dragon or gain an interesting new kind of clout. Oddly enough, this less-than-supreme accomplishment may be exactly right for you. The lower levels of pressure and responsibility will keep you sane and healthy. The stress of your moderate success will be very manageable. So give thanks for this just-right blessing!

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Some traditional astrologers believe solar eclipses are sour omens. They theorize that when the moon perfectly covers the sun, as it will on July 2, a metaphorical shadow will pass across some part of our lives, perhaps triggering crises. I don’t agree with that gloomy assessment. I consider a solar eclipse to be a harbinger of grace and slack and freedom. In my view, the time before and after this cosmic event might resemble what the workplace is like when the boss is out of town. Or it may be a sign that your inner critic is going to shut up and leave you alone for a while. Or you could suddenly find that you can access the willpower and ingenuity you need so as to change something about your life that you’ve been wanting to change. So, I advise you to start planning now to take advantage of the upcoming blessings of the eclipse.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What are you doing with the fertility and creativity that have been sweeping through your life during the first six months of 2019? Are you witheringly idealistic, caught up in perfectionistic detail as you cautiously follow outmoded rules about how to make best use of that fertility and creativity? Or are you being expansively pragmatic, wielding your lively imagination to harness that fertility and creativity to generate transformations that will improve your life forever?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Mythologist Joseph Campbell said that heroes are those who give their lives to something bigger than themselves. That’s never an easy assignment for anyone, but right now it’s less difficult for you than ever before. As you prepare for the joyous ordeal, I urge you to shed the expectation that it will require you to make a burdensome sacrifice. Instead, picture the process as involving the loss of a small pleasure that paves the way for a greater pleasure. Imagine you will finally be able to give a giant gift you’ve been bursting to express.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In 1903, the Wright Brothers put wings on a heavy machine and got the contraption to fly up off the ground for 59 seconds. No one had ever done such a thing.

Sixty-six years later, American astronauts succeeded at an equally momentous feat. They piloted a craft that departed from the Earth and landed on the surface of the moon. The first motorcycle was another quantum leap in humans’ ability to travel. Two German inventors created the first one in 1885. But it took 120 years before any person did a back-flip while riding a motorcycle. If I had to compare your next potential breakthrough to one or the other marvelous invention, I’d say it’ll be more metaphorically similar to a motorcycle flip than the moon-landing.

It may not be crucial to the evolution of the human race, but it’ll be impressive—and a testament to your hard work.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the year A.D. 37, Saul of Tarsus was traveling by foot from Jerusalem to Damascus, Syria.

He was on a mission to find and arrest devotees of Jesus, then bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished. Saul’s plans got waylaid, however—or so the story goes. A “light from heaven” knocked him down, turned him blind, and spoke to him in the voice of Jesus. Three days later, Saul’s blindness was healed and he pledged himself to forevermore be one of those devotees of Jesus he had previously persecuted. I don’t expect a transformation quite so spectacular for you in the coming weeks, Scorpio. But I do suspect you will change your mind about an important issue, and consider making a fundamental edit of your belief system.

SHEPHERD EXPRESS

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You could be a disorienting or even disruptive influence to some people. You may also have healing and inspirational effects. And yes, both of those statements are true. You should probably warn your allies that you might be almost unbearably interesting. Let them know you could change their minds and disprove their theories. But also tell them that if they remain open to your rowdy grace and boisterous poise, you might provide them with curative stimulation they didn’t even know they needed.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Some children are repelled by the taste of broccoli. Food researchers at the McDonald’s restaurant chain decided to address the problem. In an effort to render this ultra-healthy vegetable more palatable, they concocted a version that tasted like bubble gum. Kids didn’t like it, though. It confused them. But you have to give credit to the food researchers for thinking inventively. I encourage you to get equally creative, even a bit wacky or odd, in your efforts to solve a knotty dilemma. Allow your brainstorms to be playful and experimental.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Spank yourself for me, please. Ten sound swats ought to do it. According to my astrological assessments, that will be sufficient to rein yourself in from the possibility of committing excesses and extravagance. By enacting this humorous yet serious ritual, you will set in motion corrective forces that tweak your unconscious mind in just the right way so as to prevent you from getting too much of a good thing; you will avoid asking for too much or venturing too far. Instead, you will be content with and grateful for the exact bounty you have gathered in recent weeks.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Your inspiration for the coming weeks is a poem by Piscean poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It begins like this: “The holiest of all holidays are those / Kept by ourselves in silence and apart; / The secret anniversaries of the heart, / When the full river of feeling overflows.” In accordance with astrological omens, Pisces, I invite you to create your own secret holiday of the heart, which you will celebrate at this time of year for the rest of your long life. Be imaginative and full of deep feelings as you dream up the marvelous reasons why you will observe this sacred anniversary. Design special rituals you will perform to rouse your gratitude for the miracle of your destiny.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Orfield Laboratories is an architectural company that designs rooms for ultimate comfort. They sculpt the acoustic environment so that sounds are soft, clear and pleasant to the human ear. They ensure that the temperature is just right and the air quality is always fresh. At night the artificial light is gentle on the eyes, and by day the sunlight is rejuvenating. In the coming weeks, I’d love for you to be in places like this on a regular basis. According to my analysis of the astrological rhythms, it’s recharging time for you. You need and deserve an abundance of cozy relaxation.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I hope that during the next four weeks, you will make plans to expedite and deepen your education.

You’ll be able to make dramatic progress in figuring out what will be most important for you to learn in the next three years. We all have pockets of ignorance about how we understand reality, and now is an excellent time for you to identify what your pockets are and to begin illuminating them. Every one of us lacks some key training or knowledge that could help us fulfill our noblest dreams, and now is a favorable time for you to address that issue.

Homework: It’s my birthday. If you feel moved, send me love and blessings! Info about how to do that at freewillastrology.com.

Go to realastrology.com to check out Rob

::NEWS OF THE WEIRD ::BY THE EDITORS OF ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Avocado-armed and Dangerous

A

47-year-old resident of southern Israel approached a teller at a Postal Bank branch in mid-May, handing her a note that read, “Hand over the money in the drawer” (misspelling the Hebrew word for “drawer”), The Times of Israel reported. As the teller hesitated, the robber said, “Put the money in the bag quickly, or I’ll throw this grenade,” referring to a black object in his right hand. The teller gave him the equivalent of $4,450 in cash, and the robber left. Five days later, he repeated his method at another branch, where he netted another $3,300. Police tracked him through mobile phone records and other clues, eventually discovering the “grenade” he wielded was an avocado he had painted black.

Hot Wings Hot Rod A 16-year-old driver was pulled over by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Manitoba, Canada, on Thursday, June 6, after being clocked driving 105 mph, according to Fox News. The teenager was driving a Chevy Camaro, but it wasn’t the muscle car that made him go so fast, he said. He told police that it was likely because he had just eaten several hot chicken wings. Officers were unmoved, however, tweeting, “Absolutely #noexcuses for that kind of speed.” The teen was fined and is likely to have his license suspended.

Vandalism, Schmandalism

horoscopes are also available by phone at 877873-4888 or 900-950-7700.

Tapioca Tap Out If you’re a fan of bubble tea, you may want to add it to your “all things in moderation” list. On Tuesday, May 28, a 14-year-old girl in Zhejiang Province, China, went to the hospital after suffering from constipation and being unable to eat for five days. Through a CT scan, doctors found unusual spherical shadows in her abdomen, reported Asia One, which they suspected were undigested tapioca pearls from bubble tea. The girl reluctantly admitted to drinking only one cup of bubble tea five days before, but doctors said her condition indicated she had consumed much more and prescribed laxatives. One doctor warned that the “bubbles” in bubble tea are made of starch and are difficult to digest, especially if not thoroughly chewed.

Getting Beethoven’s Goat

Russians Lending a Hand

A lock of Ludwig von Beethoven’s hair sold at auction on Tuesday, June 11, for an unexpected 35,000 British pounds (about $45,000), “Inside Edition” reported. Sotheby’s said the framed hair was given by Beethoven to a friend, pianist Anton Halm, as a gift for Halm’s wife almost 200 years ago. Reportedly, when Halm asked for the gift, a servant snipped some hair from a goat and presented it to Halm. Beethoven was incensed, saying, “You’ve been tricked. This is not my hair. It’s the hair of a goat!” He then cut a lock of hair from the back of his own head, wrapped it in paper and turned it over to Halm. A Sotheby’s expert confirmed that the auctioned hair was, indeed, human, but there is still no way to know for certain the hair is actually that of the great composer.

Men looking for diversion in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, entered the Male Slapping Championships, part of the Siberian Power Show, in

© 2019 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

In the Arctic region of Murmansk in Russia, an abandoned railway bridge was the quarry of ambitious metal thieves who removed the 75-foot-long center span, leaving only the support structures near either shore. Locals noticed the section was missing in May, reported the BBC. While the missing span would have weighed about 62 tons, it was estimated to be worth only about $9,000. Russian law enforcement is looking into the theft, but locals are nonplussed: One mused that the remaining structures would be “eyesores” for a long time to come, then shrugged: “Ah, who cares; this isn’t Germany. Restoring order to the landscape is not high on the agenda.”

Brezsny’s Expanded Weekly Audio Horoscopes and Daily Text Message Horoscopes. The audio

March, wherein contestants slap each other so hard that some of them sustain concussions.

According to RT News, female Siberians now have their own contest called the Booty-Slapping Championships. For this event, which took place in mid-June, the women, all fitness enthusiasts, take turns whacking each other on the derriere until one is knocked off balance.

Fitness blogger Anastasia Zolotaya, one of the contest’s winners, features demonstrations of the serious workouts she uses to toughen her buns on her Instagram page, @sportnastya.

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::ARTFORART’SSAKE

The Bride and Doom ::BY ART KUMBALEK

I

’m Art Kumbalek and man oh man manischewitz what a world, ain’a? And about this summer solstice June 21, it’s a bad news/good news deal to me. Bad news: June 21 is the first—not the last—focking day of summer with way too many to follow, chock-packed with heat, stupidity, racket and bugs. Good news: The days become shorter as they say, so a couple, three more spins of the moon around the Earth and fall, with its more civilized seasonal sanity, will be upon us. And it can’t come soon enough, I kid you not.

So on account of my summertime blues, fock the essay this week. And since the Uptowner tavern/charm school is yet to open, I’m off to my favorite Webb’s. Come along if you want but you leave the tip, what the fock.

Let’s get going.

Bea: Hey there Artie, what’s your pleasure?

Art: Hey Bea, how ’bout a nice cup of the blackest, thickest and cheapest of whatever you’re calling plain-old regular coffee today. And by thick, Bea, I mean you got to stick a fork in it to tell if it’s done or not.

Bea: You’re in luck, Artie. I just took some out of the oven right before you came in.

Art: So what do you hear, what do you know, Bea? Bea: We had a nice couple stop in for their rehearsal breakfast earlier.

They’re getting married tomorrow.

Art: Yeah yeah, June. Great month for brides, limo drivers and those goddamn DJs, ain’a? The one piece of advice I got for any young couple planning a catered affair is this: Live music is best.

Bea: It surely is, Artie.

Art: Anyways, I wish them the best of luck. It’s one thing to get married, but it’s not so easy staying married like it was years ago, no sir. Too many

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couples aren’t ready for the practical realities of the conjubial obligations of the marriage betrothing.

Bea: You may be right about that, Artie.

Art: Focking-A, Bea. I’m no expert but maybe they could help cut the divorce rate right from the get-go during the wedding vows for the husband groom, if in between when he says “to love, honor and obey” and “till death do us part,” he had to say, “and damned if I do, damned if I don’t.” You ever been married, Bea?

Bea: No Artie, can’t say that I have. And how about you?

Art: That would be a definite no, Bea. Not to say there haven’t been a couple, three possible future-ex Mrs. Art Kumbaleks come down the pike, but the thought of marriage can sure put the fear of the lord into a guy, and what do I need that kind of aggravation for?

Bea: Couldn’t tell you, Artie.

Art: Cripes, I already got the fear of the IRS, the fear of coming up with one more excuse for the landlord, the fear of running out of cigarettes when all the stores are closed—I sure as heck don’t need to be tossing the lord into that fearsome pot, what the fock.

Bea: I suppose not.

Art: ’Nother reason I never got married Bea, most of the ladies I know either have a pet or always wanted one, and that’s just too risky a proposition for a successful marriage.

Bea: Really, Artie.

Art: You bet, Bea. Let me tell you a little story. This gal I know was coming out of the donut shop on her way to work when she saw the strangest funeral procession heading to the cemetery. At the front was a long, black hearse followed by a second hearse. Following the second hearse was a solitary woman dressed all in black and walking a dog on a leash. Behind her were maybe 200 women walking in single file.

Bea: You don’t say.

Art: So my gal friend says to the woman walking the dog, “I’m sorry for your loss. I know it’s a bad time to disturb you, but I’ve never, ever seen a funeral like this. May I ask whom it’s for?” And the dog lady says, “The first hearse is for my husband. My dog attacked and killed him.”

My friend says, “I’m so sorry. But then who’s in the second hearse?”

And the lady says, “My mother-in-law. She was trying to help my husband when the dog turned on her.” A moment passed and my friend asked, “Could I borrow that dog?” And the new widow said, “Get in line.”

Bea: Isn’t that something.

Art: That, it is. Anyways, I got to run, Bea. Thanks for the coffee and for letting me bend your ear there, Bea—utiful. See you the time that’s next.

Bea: My pleasure, Artie. Always nice getting talked at by you. Take care.

(It’s off to the Uptowner. And if I see you there, then you buy me one ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.)

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